Chapter 169: Dead Fire Becomes Wealth
The final steps of Dong Fang Chang Fan's revival method were useless in Fang Ming's hands.
Fang Yuan had sold him the real thing. The method was not fake, and the information was not incomplete in the ordinary sense. But the final revival process required two specific Immortal Gu as its core, and Fang Yuan had not included the recipes for those two Immortal Gu in the transaction.
Without the Gu, the method could not activate.
Without the recipes, Fang Ming could not even attempt to refine the Gu.
It was like receiving a food beast formation without its core Immortal Gu. The structure could be studied, the idea could be understood, but the actual function was locked away. Fang Yuan had not lied, but he had certainly not been generous.
Fang Ming naturally disliked this feeling.
But he did not throw the method aside.
In the Gu world, even useless things could become useful if placed in the right position.
Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land was hidden in a secluded region. Its entrance was sealed tightly, and the space around it was covered in old fire path and information path arrangements. If Fang Ming had not searched Old Lord Can Yang's soul and obtained enough clues, finding this place would not have been simple.
When the entrance opened, a wave of heat rushed out.
Fang Ming stepped inside.
The sky of the blessed land was a dim red color, as if sunset had been frozen across the heavens. Beneath it, smoke drifted over black plains, lava rivers cut through the earth like glowing wounds, and distant mountains released slow breaths of ash. The air was hot and dry, carrying the smell of minerals, smoke, and burning wood.
This was a fire path blessed land.
But it was not wild.
That was the first thing Fang Ming noticed.
Everywhere he looked, there were signs of organization. Lava flows had been guided into channels. Fire forests were separated by formation barriers. Smoke valleys were enclosed by wind-controlling Gu formations, preventing the smoke insects inside from spreading too far. Refinement chambers were built near controlled flame pools, while material storage halls were placed on cooler ground. Even the beast regions were divided clearly.
Old Lord Can Yang had not treated this blessed land as a storage pouch.
He had managed it like a true production base.
The land spirit appeared before Fang Ming not long after he entered. It was shaped like a crane made of dim orange fire, with long legs, narrow wings, and eyes like burning coal. Its aura was not strong, but its gaze was stubborn.
"You killed him," the land spirit said.
Fang Ming looked at it calmly. "Yes."
The land spirit did not attack. It could not lie, and it could not ignore the obsession that formed it. Its master was dead. It knew this. But a land spirit did not choose a new master through hatred. It chose according to the condition left behind.
Fang Ming raised his hand, and an information path Gu flew out.
"This is the final part of Dong Fang Chang Fan's revival inheritance."
The fire crane land spirit's eyes brightened.
Fang Ming did not hand over everything carelessly. He presented the method as a concept first, then explained the final structure, the role of the two core Immortal Gu, the sacrificial requirements, and the way the revival body would be completed. He did not conceal the fact that the method was costly and difficult, nor did he pretend that it could be used casually.
The land spirit listened without moving.
Its master's final obsession was not to revive Dong Fang Chang Fan.
It was to know the final part of the method.
Old Lord Can Yang had participated in the matter because of Immortal Crane Sect's interests and because the revival inheritance was valuable. Even after death, that desire had become the key to his blessed land.
When Fang Ming finished, the fire crane land spirit lowered its head.
"The requirement is fulfilled."
The blessed land trembled slightly.
A hidden connection formed between Fang Ming and this land. The red sky, the ash plains, the lava rivers, the beast regions, the refinement halls, and the countless formations spread across the blessed land all seemed to become clearer in his senses.
Fang Ming had become the master of Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land.
The final revival method was still useless to him in actual practice, but it had opened the door to a rank seven blessed land.
That was enough.
Fang Ming asked the land spirit to guide him around.
The more he saw, the more satisfied he became.
This blessed land had an eighteen-to-one time flow. Eighteen days inside passed for every one day outside. It could not compare to Fang Ming's own thirty-eight-to-one aperture, but for a rank seven blessed land, it was already good. More importantly, its resources were mature and its production systems were complete.
Underground lava regions produced volcanic minerals. Flame trees grew in carefully controlled groves, their branches covered in red leaves that burned without turning to ash. Ember flowers bloomed in black soil, opening only when the temperature rose to a certain point. Oil pools bubbled slowly near the southern edge of the blessed land, producing a sticky black material useful in fire path refinement. Smoke insects gathered in smoke-filled valleys, forming thick clouds that could be harvested if handled properly.
There were ash plains, magma caves, controlled volcano ecosystems, flame chambers, fire pools for refining Gu, and refinement formations that used different grades of heat. Some areas were used for fire-path desolate beasts, while others raised flying fire beasts. The smelting section was especially important. It contained heavy furnaces, heat-gathering formations, material-purifying pools, and storage halls for processed metals.
Fang Ming had already learned from Old Lord Can Yang's soul that a large part of his income came from processing heavy raw metals and materials.
Now he saw the actual foundation.
This business suited Fang Ming extremely well.
His own strength path aperture contained many heavy ores, dense minerals, and strength-path metal deposits. In the past, he had not extracted them heavily because raw materials were cheap. Selling mountains of low-grade ore was not worth the manpower, transport, and time. But processed materials were different.
Old Lord Can Yang's methods could turn cheap raw resources into profitable finished materials.
Fang Ming's own aperture could provide the raw materials.
Can Yang's blessed land could process them.
Treasure yellow heaven and old business channels could sell them.
A complete chain had appeared.
Fang Ming stood inside one of the smelting halls, watching fire flow through formation grooves along the floor. Several furnaces stood in the center, each one covered in dense Gu formation markings. The heat inside was different from ordinary flame. It was stable, layered, and guided. Each furnace could refine impurities from different heavy materials.
"Old Lord Can Yang did not waste his years," Fang Ming said.
The land spirit raised its head proudly. "Master was trusted by Immortal Crane Sect. He completed many missions. He had many channels."
Fang Ming nodded.
Old Lord Can Yang had been wealthy among rank sevens for a reason. He had Central Continent sect support, frequent missions, strong battle value, a famous immortal killer move, and the trust of Immortal Crane Sect. He had participated in major operations, and his business had not grown in isolation.
Unfortunately, after his death, many of those advantages would become problems.
Fang Ming understood this clearly.
The blessed land's old customers included Central Continent righteous sects. Once news of Old Lord Can Yang's death spread, many of them would stop trading. Some would fear Immortal Crane Sect's reaction. Some would suspect Fang Ming had taken control. Some would not want to be connected to the killer of a famous Central Continent rank seven.
The business would shrink.
But it would not disappear.
Not every buyer cared about righteousness, sect politics, or revenge. Treasure yellow heaven had practical buyers. Lone cultivators needed materials. Some righteous path Gu Immortals cared more about results than background. As long as the goods were good and the price was fair, some trade would remain.
Fang Ming did not need to preserve everything Old Lord Can Yang had built.
He only needed to keep enough and make the rest his own.
The land spirit then brought him to the beast regions.
There were fire beasts, but what truly attracted Fang Ming's attention were the cranes.
Flame cranes gathered near burning forests, their feathers carrying red sparks. Magma cranes nested near lava rivers, their legs standing in heat that would burn ordinary beasts. Smoke cranes moved through grey valleys, appearing and disappearing inside thick smoke. Armored cranes had dark, metallic feathers and heavier bodies, their wings beating with a dull sound.
There were also crane-raising formations.
Many of them.
Fang Ming was not surprised.
Old Lord Can Yang's soul had already revealed some of Immortal Crane Sect's inheritance in crane raising. Immortal Crane Sect did not merely raise cranes in large numbers. They had methods to influence growth, guide mutations, and use special materials to push cranes toward certain directions.
The cranes here fed on fire materials. Their bodies adapted to fire path environments, and under formation guidance, their mutations were not random. Some became faster. Some became tougher. Some gained fire path attacks. Some developed armor-like feathers.
To Fang Ming, this was extremely valuable.
He was already developing enslavement path, and his main beast foundation was eagles. Eagles and cranes were not the same, but both were flying beasts. Crane mutation methods would be easier to adapt to eagles than methods meant for wolves, bears, or ground beasts.
Fang Ming looked at the flame cranes circling above a burning forest and smiled faintly.
His eagle ambush had already become famous after Old Lord Can Yang's death. In the future, enemies might watch his eagle groups carefully, wondering whether clones were hidden among their feathers. That was unavoidable.
But cranes gave him another option.
Some people might suspect crane tricks because he had killed Old Lord Can Yang. But suspicion in advance was one thing; reacting correctly in the heat of battle was another. If he hid clones among cranes instead of eagles, he might still find opportunities.
A method did not need to fool everyone forever.
It only needed to fool the right person at the right moment.
Fang Ming kept the cranes.
He also moved a portion of his eagles into Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land. The land spirit was ordered to care for them and begin testing controlled fire-type and armor-type mutations. Fang Ming did not expect immediate success. Mutation was a long process, and failure was normal. But with his thirty-eight-to-one aperture, this eighteen-to-one blessed land, and enough mortal Gu Masters to maintain the formations, time was on his side.
For the next outside-world month, Fang Ming did not rush elsewhere.
He reorganized.
Inside his own aperture, Gu Masters were assigned to survey mineral zones, open mines, and collect heavy ores and strength-path materials that had previously been ignored. New formations were built to produce and concentrate certain heavy materials. Mortal villages near resource zones received new tasks, and Eagle Sect Gu Masters were assigned to supervise transport and safety.
Inside Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land, the smelting facilities were repaired, adjusted, and reorganized. Fang Ming was stronger in information path management than Old Lord Can Yang had been. He had better ways of gathering reports, measuring output, tracking waste, and coordinating labor. The land spirit had experience, but it followed old habits. Fang Ming changed those habits.
Some wasteful formations were simplified.
Some fire material feeding cycles were adjusted.
Some beast regions were reorganized to reduce unnecessary consumption.
The smelting business was restarted, but under new rules.
Old Lord Can Yang's old business had once produced around two hundred and eighty immortal essence stones per outside month, sometimes even exceeding three hundred. After his death, many Central Continent righteous partners left, and the trade shrank sharply. At first, the remaining business only reached around one hundred and twenty immortal essence stones per outside month.
Fang Ming did not complain.
He reduced consumption, reorganized production, and stabilized the remaining channels. After one outside-world month, the blessed land's smelting and fire-material business could produce around one hundred and forty immortal essence stones per outside month.
This was not equal to Old Lord Can Yang's peak.
But it was stable.
More importantly, Fang Ming's own strength-material cycle had begun. His aperture produced raw heavy materials, Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land processed them, and the finished goods were sold. This added around fifty immortal essence stones per outside month.
Together, the new Can Yang-related income reached around one hundred and ninety immortal essence stones per outside month.
And that was only the beginning.
During this month, Fang Ming also conducted another experiment.
After watching how fire materials influenced cranes, he placed a junglefowl food beast formation inside Old Lord Can Yang's fire path blessed land. The result was interesting. The food beasts produced there carried fire path traces. They were not ordinary food beasts anymore.
These fire-mutated food beasts were useful to fire-type beasts and fire-mutated beasts. They could help growth and might even stimulate mutation in normal beasts. The idea was good, but the market was narrow. Many Gu Immortals preferred ordinary food beasts. Treasure yellow heaven buyers showed curiosity, but few were willing to form long-term agreements.
The efficiency was also only about half of Fang Ming's main aperture formations.
Fang Ming did not mind.
His own eagles and Can Yang's cranes could consume about a quarter of the output. If he found buyers for the remaining portion, it might bring around thirty immortal essence stones per outside month. If not, the loss was small. Later, when more fire-type eagle mutation formations were built, the production could be consumed internally.
This was not a failed business.
It was an early experiment.
And experiments were allowed to lose a little money before becoming useful.
After one outside-world month, Fang Ming stood above the Free Market and looked down at the island.
The market had grown slightly.
Not much, but enough to see movement. More Gu Masters had appeared in the streets. More goods were being exchanged. The Eagle Sect headquarters had expanded its storage halls, and the teleport passage was guarded even more tightly than before.
Fang Ming was inspecting a formation near the headquarters when Hei Lou Lan arrived.
She came through the cup Gu transfer route from Hu Immortal blessed land, her expression cold as usual.
The moment she saw Fang Ming, she said, "I was cheated by Fang Yuan in business."
Fang Ming turned and looked at her with a strange expression.
After a short pause, he said, "You were brave enough to do business with Fang Yuan? Wasn't it obvious you would be cheated?"
Hei Lou Lan's eyes narrowed.
"At least Fang Yuan only cheated me out of a few dozen immortal essence stones. You cheated me out of rank eight Attitude Gu."
Fang Ming continued inspecting the formation lines on the stone platform. "That was a trade. You agreed."
"I was forced to agree."
"But you agreed."
"It was not fair."
Fang Ming ignored that and adjusted a Gu worm in the formation node.
Hei Lou Lan looked at him for a moment, then snorted coldly. She had not come here to argue about old matters. If she wanted fairness, she would not be dealing with Fang Yuan or Fang Ming.
"I came for business," she said.
Only then did Fang Ming look at her properly. "What kind?"
"I want to develop my immortal aperture. Are you interested in investing?"
Fang Ming did not answer immediately.
He already had Gu Immortal subordinates under Eagle Sect. Some had only recently ascended, and their apertures also needed investment. They were closer to him, more obedient, and easier to control. From the perspective of loyalty, investing in them was far safer than investing in Hei Lou Lan.
So he asked directly, "Why should I invest in you instead of my own people?"
Hei Lou Lan was prepared for this question.
"My aperture's time flow is fast. Very fast. It is similar to yours. If you invest in ordinary blessed lands, returns are slower. If you invest in mine, the same time outside can produce far more growth."
This was true.
Fang Ming's interest increased.
A fast time-flow aperture was valuable. It consumed resources quickly, but it also produced results quickly. For businesses involving growth, mining, reproduction, or formation production, time flow mattered greatly.
Fang Ming thought of the heavy material cycle he had just built.
A strength path aperture often contained heavy earth, dense minerals, metals, and ores. Hei Lou Lan's aperture should be suitable for similar development. On her own, she could not sell raw materials at a high price. But Fang Ming now controlled Old Lord Can Yang's smelting chain.
He could use her aperture as another raw material source.
"I can invest formations into your aperture," Fang Ming said. "They will be used to produce and mine strength-path heavy materials, metals, and ores. You will need to arrange mortals and Gu Masters to operate them, manage production, and maintain the formations."
Hei Lou Lan listened silently.
Fang Ming continued, "I will buy the agreed monthly output from you. Then I will process it through Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land and sell the finished materials."
"How much?" Hei Lou Lan asked.
"Twenty-five immortal essence stones per month, if you produce the agreed amount."
Hei Lou Lan frowned.
She was not ignorant. "Your own similar production should be worth more than that."
"It is," Fang Ming admitted.
"Then you are taking too much."
"The raw materials are not worth much. The processing chain is the important part. I provide the formations, I provide the purchasing channel, I provide the smelting facilities, and I handle the resale."
Hei Lou Lan's expression became colder.
She understood the problem immediately.
This deal gave her income, but it did not give her independence. Without Fang Ming's smelting process, the raw strength-path materials in her aperture would be difficult to sell for a good price. The most profitable part of the chain was not in her hands.
"Then invest the full chain into my aperture," she said. "Including the smelting process."
Fang Ming laughed lightly.
"No."
His answer was immediate.
Hei Lou Lan's gaze sharpened.
Fang Ming did not pretend. "The smelting process is the core profit point. Why would I hand the most important part of the business to you?"
Hei Lou Lan had no answer, because the logic was too clear.
She disliked the deal because it tied her to Fang Ming's processing chain. She had just been cheated by Fang Yuan because she lacked independence, and now Fang Ming was offering her another business where the key link remained in his hands.
But rejecting it also meant gaining nothing.
Twenty-five immortal essence stones per month was not enough to make her rich, but it was stable. More importantly, it helped develop her aperture and gave her another income source besides Fang Yuan and Fairy Li Shan.
"What about the formation cost?" she asked.
"The startup formations cost around forty immortal essence stones. You can repay later."
Hei Lou Lan's expression eased slightly, but only slightly.
She still felt dissatisfied.
But she agreed.
Fang Ming smiled. "Good. Then your aperture will provide raw materials, and my blessed land will process them. If you manage it well, this can last for a long time."
Hei Lou Lan looked at him coldly. "You sound like Fang Yuan when he says something is good for me."
"Then you should be more careful."
"I am already being careful."
"Not enough, apparently."
Hei Lou Lan's mouth twitched, but she did not continue arguing. She had gained one deal, but it was a slow one. Her aperture needed resources now, not only months later.
"Do you have a faster way to earn immortal essence stones?" she asked.
Fang Ming looked toward the sky.
Several eagles circled above the Free Market, their shadows passing over the formation platform.
"There is one," he said.
Hei Lou Lan waited.
"I need more desolate beasts, especially desolate eagles. Eagle Sect's newly ascended Gu Immortals also lack combat experience. I plan to send them to capture desolate beasts. You can join them."
Hei Lou Lan's interest rose.
"How much?"
"One hundred and twenty immortal essence stones for each desolate eagle captured. One hundred for ordinary desolate beasts."
"That is below market price."
"Market price is useful when you sell one or two," Fang Ming said. "If you capture ten, twenty, or a hundred, can you sell them all quickly in treasure yellow heaven at the highest price? I am buying in bulk and paying fast."
Hei Lou Lan did not refute.
That was true.
Fang Ming continued, "I will lend capture methods and Immortal Gu tools to my people. This is a team operation. You will not receive one hundred and twenty stones just by standing there. Payment is divided according to contribution. If you do nothing, you get nothing. If you contribute more, you receive more."
Hei Lou Lan nodded.
This was acceptable. She trusted her battle strength. Among Fang Ming's newly ascended subordinates, few could compare with her. If the operation truly involved fighting desolate beasts, she could earn a meaningful share.
Fang Ming's purpose was also clear to her.
He was not only buying beasts.
He was training his people.
Newly ascended Gu Immortals often lacked real combat experience. Fighting desolate beasts was dangerous, but it was also a good training method. With Hei Lou Lan present as insurance, the risk would decrease. Fang Ming would gain desolate beasts, train subordinates, and give Hei Lou Lan a path to earn faster profit.
One arrangement, multiple uses.
Hei Lou Lan agreed.
But as she left the formation platform, her mood was not relaxed.
She had gained business with Fang Ming, but she was still dependent.
With Fang Yuan, she had guts Gu profit, but negotiations with him were full of traps. With Fairy Li Shan, she had connections, but Fairy Li Shan herself was under Snowy Mountain pressure. With Fang Ming, she gained aperture development and a new income source, but the most important smelting chain remained in his hands.
Still, compared to before, her situation was better.
She was no longer relying on only one side.
That alone was progress.
After Hei Lou Lan left, Fang Ming returned to the sect headquarters and reviewed his accounts again.
His economy had changed greatly, but so had his expenses.
The food beast business remained one of his largest stable foundations. Fang Ming originally had 10 food beast formations, but 1 had been permanently given to Hei Lou Lan in the Attitude Gu deal. Of the 9 remaining formations under his control, 7 generated around 90 immortal essence stones per outside month each, while the other 2 generated around 100 each.
That meant:
7 × 90 = 630
2 × 100 = 200
Food beast total: 830 immortal essence stones per outside month
The tattoo killer move business was even more profitable. Fang Ming had 18 tattoo factory formations, but only 9 were currently producing for external sale. Each selling factory produced 4 immortal killer move tattoos per outside month, and each tattoo sold for 50 immortal essence stones.
That meant:
9 × 4 = 36 tattoos per month
36 × 50 = 1,800 immortal essence stones per outside month
The other 9 tattoo factory formations were not sold externally. They produced tattoos for Fang Ming's own use. This was not income, but a monthly cost. Each self-use tattoo cost around 3 immortal essence stones to produce.
That meant:
9 × 4 = 36 self-use tattoos per month
36 × 3 = 108 immortal essence stones per outside month
The Jade Pool formations and resources reinvested into Fang Ming's aperture had also begun producing stable returns. Those resource arrangements now generated close to:
500 immortal essence stones per outside month
Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land, after losing many Central Continent righteous partners and being reorganized by Fang Ming, produced around:
140 immortal essence stones per outside month
Fang Ming's own strength-material cycle, using raw resources from his aperture and Can Yang's smelting methods, added around:
50 immortal essence stones per outside month
There were also many small side businesses inside Fang Ming's aperture. Most of them were not major industries. Some processed junglefowl feathers into usable materials. Some processed eagle feathers, bones, and other beast byproducts. Some were small mortal Gu refinement factories that produced Gu worms Fang Ming himself did not care about, but Eagle Sect disciples could use.
These businesses existed partly to test markets, partly to diversify income, and partly to keep the huge number of mortals and Gu Masters inside his aperture busy instead of idle.
Together, these small diversified businesses brought in around:
30 immortal essence stones per outside month
The Free Market had also started generating income. It was still young, and most of the goods came from Fang Ming, Eagle Sect Gu Immortals, Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land, Jade Pool materials, Tai Bai Yun Sheng's time-path shop and services, guts Gu, and tattoo killer moves. But because it had several unique products, it had already attracted dozens of Gu Immortals to visit, buy, and sell.
The Free Market's gross income was around:
40 immortal essence stones per outside month
After upkeep, guards, formations, staff, and market management, its net profit was around:
30 immortal essence stones per outside month
Fang Ming's Eagle Sect Gu Immortals were now mostly self-sufficient. After robbing Jade Pool blessed land, most of them had received around 50% of the materials and production lines they personally seized. They now had their own small production foundations and no longer needed Fang Ming to support them heavily.
Instead, Fang Ming even made a small profit from maintaining and adjusting their aperture formations.
This brought in around:
5 immortal essence stones per outside month
Adding the stable income together:
Food beasts: 830
Tattoo sales: 1,800
Jade Pool reinvested formations: 500
Can Yang blessed land: 140
Strength-material cycle: 50
Small diversified businesses: 30
Free Market net profit: 30
Eagle Sect Gu Immortal formation service: 5
Total stable monthly income:
830 + 1,800 + 500 + 140 + 50 + 30 + 30 + 5 = 3,385 immortal essence stones per outside month
This did not include uncertain or future income.
The fire-mutated food beast experiment might add another:
0–30 immortal essence stones per outside month
Hei Lou Lan's future material supply deal would add around:
20 immortal essence stones per outside month
So once Hei Lou Lan's production stabilized, and if the fire-mutated food beasts found buyers, Fang Ming's monthly income could reach:
3,385 + 20 + 30 = 3,435 immortal essence stones per outside month
But income was only one side of the account.
Expenses were the other.
Maintaining Fang Ming's formations required constant repair and replacement of Gu worms. Even with good management, formation maintenance cost around:
40 immortal essence stones per outside month
Self-use tattoo killer moves were another large monthly cost:
108 immortal essence stones per outside month
The dream formation and dream-path mortal Gu production consumed around:
70 immortal essence stones per outside month
The Human as Before healing formation was mild by comparison. It was mostly used by refinement Gu Masters who suffered backlash during refinement, and cost around:
5 immortal essence stones per outside month
Fang Ming also spent resources each month developing his aperture. He did not invest blindly. Unless he had an advantage in cost, quality, or quantity, he would not heavily enter a business. Most of his regular aperture development went into small complementary industries around his main businesses.
This monthly development spending was around:
20 immortal essence stones per outside month
Adding these regular monthly expenses together:
Formation maintenance: 40
Self-use tattoo production: 108
Dream formation and dream Gu production: 70
Human as Before healing formation: 5
Regular aperture development: 20
Total regular monthly expenses:
40 + 108 + 70 + 5 + 20 = 243 immortal essence stones per outside month
That left Fang Ming with a regular monthly surplus of:
3,385 - 243 = 3,142 immortal essence stones per outside month
This looked terrifying, but Fang Ming still did not feel relaxed.
Because his true expenses were not regular monthly costs.
Copying an Immortal Gu usually cost around:
500 immortal essence stones
Refining an Immortal Gu could cost:
3,000+ immortal essence stones, depending on the recipe
Virtual refinement was even more painful. Each use consumed around:
3,000–4,000 immortal essence stones
Fang Ming's real goal was to have enough wealth to perform at least 1 virtual refinement each month. Virtual refinement was extremely useful because it allowed him to create Gu he actually needed, instead of merely copying what he already had.
But at the current level, even with more than 3,000 immortal essence stones in monthly surplus, he still could not use virtual refinement casually. One failed attempt or one expensive recipe could swallow an entire month's profit.
The Free Market's initial setup had already cost over:
300 immortal essence stones
Its ongoing upkeep was manageable now because the market mostly paid for itself, but expanding it would require more.
The desolate beast capture operation was also not income. It was spending.
Fang Ming would pay:
120 immortal essence stones per desolate eagle
100 immortal essence stones per normal desolate beast
In exchange, he would gain desolate beasts, train Gu Immortals, and strengthen his beast foundation. But from the account scroll's perspective, it was still money flowing out.
Beast feeding was one of the few areas where Fang Ming had an advantage. Because he was a junglefowl food beast supplier, most beasts and Gu inside his aperture could be fed through his own system. Even those with special needs were manageable. Compared to his other expenses, beast feeding was negligible.
Fang Ming closed the account scroll.
A regular surplus of 3,142 immortal essence stones per outside month was enough to terrify ordinary rank 6 Gu Immortals.
But Fang Ming's ambitions were not ordinary.
Copying Gu, refining Gu, virtual refinement, raising Gu Immortals, expanding Free Market, developing apertures, building mutation lines, maintaining dream path production, and preparing for future calamities all consumed wealth like fire consuming oil.
Ordinary Gu Immortals earned to survive.
Fang Ming earned to expand.
And expansion never stopped being hungry.