Chapter 192: Flowing Essence
Fang Ming contacted Fairy Li Shan.During the Jade Pool blessed land incident, she had once used a method to delay the backlash of alliance agreements. Fang Ming remembered this clearly. Back then, it had seemed like a useful trick. Now, after obtaining Sovereign Immortal Fetus Gu and realizing that Fang Yuan had most likely returned with memories of another timeline, the value of such a method became much higher.
Agreements, pledges, loopholes, delayed backlash, hidden preparations; these things could decide life and death at critical moments.
When Fairy Li Shan heard his request, she frowned slightly.
"That method is not mine," she said.
Fang Ming was not surprised, but he still felt some disappointment.
Fairy Li Shan explained, "I paid someone else to use it. That person does not like being disturbed and rarely involves himself in worldly affairs. He is not openly doing business with this method either. I could contact him before because of a favor and some past connection, but asking him again will not be easy."
Fang Ming nodded.
Fairy Li Shan's words were already clear. This was not a normal transaction where immortal essence stones could solve everything. The person behind the method had ability, but he did not lack ordinary business. Such people were more troublesome to deal with than greedy merchants.
Fang Ming said, "This matter is important to me. If he is willing to provide the service or sell the method, I am willing to pay a premium. If Fairy Li Shan can connect me to him, I will also give you a generous commission."
Fairy Li Shan looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "I will ask. Whether he agrees or not, I cannot promise."
"That is fine." Fang Ming smiled. "I only need Fairy Li Shan to pass the message."
He did not stay long after that.
After leaving, Fang Ming sighed lightly. Failing to obtain the method immediately was a letdown. From Fairy Li Shan's tone, the chance of success was also not high. Unfortunately, not everything in this world went according to one's wishes. Fang Ming could not wait for every piece to fall into his palm before moving.
He contacted Lang Ya land spirit next.
"I am coming."
Lang Ya land spirit replied quickly. "Come then, I will wait for you."
Fang Ming activated his teleportation method and arrived in Lang Ya blessed land soon after.
The clouds were white, the land was wide, and the atmosphere was familiar. When Lang Ya land spirit saw Fang Ming, his attitude was clearly good. In their previous trades, Fang Ming had brought him profitable deals, useful information, and rare materials. Most importantly, Fang Ming had not acted like Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan always tried to squeeze benefits until Lang Ya land spirit's face turned dark. Fang Ming was different. He bargained, but he did not cut too deeply. He left room for future cooperation.
Lang Ya land spirit liked this kind of trading partner.
Fang Ming understood this very well. Short-term gains were tempting, but a long-term relationship with Lang Ya blessed land was far more valuable. Lang Ya's foundation was too deep. If Fang Ming wanted to obtain rare Gu, inheritances, refinement help, and ancient secrets in the future, he could not treat every trade as a single-use robbery.
"Fang Ming, what trade did you come for this time?" Lang Ya land spirit asked directly.
Fang Ming smiled. "I did come to trade, but before that, I have information related to Lang Ya blessed land."
Lang Ya land spirit's expression changed slightly. "Information?"
"The forces that attacked Lang Ya blessed land before were not separate enemies." Fang Ming's tone became calm. "They belong to the same force."
Lang Ya land spirit stared at him.
Fang Ming continued, "Those attacks were tests. They were probing Lang Ya blessed land's defenses, your response time, your hidden methods, and your weaknesses. Their final goal is not a small raid. They are preparing for a major attack."
Lang Ya land spirit immediately became furious. "Who are they? How dare they scheme against Lang Ya blessed land!"
Fang Ming did not answer.
Lang Ya land spirit glared at him. "You want payment?"
"Of course." Fang Ming did not hide it. "This force is very strong. Gathering this information involved great risk. If I gave it away casually, it would not be trade."
Lang Ya land spirit snorted. "Then what do you want?"
"First judge the information's value," Fang Ming said. "If the information is useful, and if my request does not cross your bottom line, we can trade fairly."
Lang Ya land spirit thought for a moment and nodded. "Continue."
Fang Ming's expression became serious.
"The next attack will likely happen within a few months. From what I know, the force preparing to attack you will not send only one or two Gu Immortals. They may bring a Gu House. There will likely be multiple rank seven and rank six Gu Immortals. The leader should be a strong rank seven, a high executive of that force."
Lang Ya land spirit's fury froze.
A Gu House.
Multiple rank sevens.
Multiple rank sixes.
A strong rank seven leader.
This was not a normal invasion. If such a force attacked Lang Ya blessed land, even with Lang Ya's foundation, the danger would be real.
"Are you certain?" Lang Ya land spirit asked.
Fang Ming nodded. "Absolutely."
Lang Ya land spirit started pacing in circles.
"What should I do? What should I do? They actually dare to attack me again! A Gu House, multiple rank sevens, and rank sixes too…" He muttered quickly, anger and anxiety mixing together.
Fang Ming did not interrupt.
The value of information needed time to settle. If Lang Ya land spirit calmed down too quickly, it meant the information had not pressed deeply into his heart. But seeing his reaction now, Fang Ming knew the trade already had a foundation.
After a while, Lang Ya land spirit stopped and turned toward him. "Tell me, what reward do you want?"
Fang Ming said, "I want to borrow and study Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus Immortal Gu."
Lang Ya land spirit's face changed immediately.
"No."
The refusal was direct.
Fang Ming was not surprised.
Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus was an immortal essence generator. To Lang Ya blessed land, it was not merely an Immortal Gu. It was tied to daily consumption, immortal essence reserves, and long-term stability. If something happened to it, Lang Ya blessed land's situation would become troublesome very quickly.
Lang Ya land spirit stared at Fang Ming. "The value difference is too large. Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus is extremely important to me. If it is damaged, do you know how much trouble that would cause?"
Fang Ming nodded. "I know."
"Then you still ask?"
"I am not asking to take it away." Fang Ming's tone remained steady. "I will examine it inside Lang Ya blessed land. I will not leave with it. I will only study it for a few days, and I will not damage it."
Lang Ya land spirit was still doubtful.
Fang Ming continued, "During this time, I can lend you a rare dream path Immortal Gu to study."
Lang Ya land spirit froze.
"Dream path Immortal Gu?"
Fang Ming raised his hand, and Dream Garment Immortal Gu appeared.
Lang Ya land spirit's eyes widened. He instantly moved closer, staring at Dream Garment as if it were a treasure that should not exist. Dream path was still far too new. Even with Lang Ya Blessed Land's foundation, dream path Immortal Gu were nonexistent within his vaults. The value of studying one was immense, especially to a refinement path existence like Lang Ya land spirit.
"You really have a dream path Immortal Gu…" Lang Ya land spirit muttered.
Fang Ming smiled. "Now this trade is not bad for you."
Lang Ya land spirit hesitated.
Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus was too important. Lending it to someone else, even inside Lang Ya blessed land, still made him uneasy. But Fang Ming had a record of trustworthy trades. He had not damaged borrowed things before, and he had always respected the trade conditions. More importantly, Dream Garment Immortal Gu was too tempting.
After struggling for a long while, Lang Ya land spirit finally said, "Fine. But you examine it here. You cannot take it away. You cannot damage it. You cannot use strange methods on it without telling me."
"Agreed."
The trade was settled.
Soon, Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus Immortal Gu was brought before Fang Ming.
The Gu had a lotus-like form, pure and elegant, with an aura that flowed quietly like immortal essence itself. Fang Ming held it carefully, and on the surface, he seemed to be studying its structure, aura, and dao mark arrangement. Lang Ya land spirit stood nearby, still watching him with caution while occasionally glancing at Dream Garment Immortal Gu.
Fang Ming's real focus had already entered his copy system.
Copy.
The process was silent.
A new Immortal Gu gradually appeared in Fang Ming's virtual refinement space. It was similar to Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus, but not identical. Its form was more like a flowing jade lotus, with essence mist curling around its petals.
Flowing Essence Gu.
Fang Ming's eyes flashed.
He then used Counterfeit Copy as well.
Another variant appeared, weaker and less stable than the true copy, but still usable. Fang Ming compared all three carefully: the original Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus, Flowing Essence Gu, and the counterfeit variant.
The result was clear.
The original Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus was still far superior. Its immortal essence production was slightly greater than both Flowing Essence Gu and the counterfeit variant combined. Lang Ya's treasure truly deserved its reputation.
But Fang Ming was not disappointed.
For him, Flowing Essence Gu was already a tremendous gain.
His current economy looked powerful. Food beasts, tattoo killer moves, processed strength materials, Old Lord Can Yang's blessed land, and various businesses all brought large monthly income. But Fang Ming had never forgotten one problem: external income could be attacked.
Fang Yuan's guts Gu was a monopoly built on Dang Hun Mountain. It was difficult to replace. Fang Ming's food beast business was different. Heavenly Court could sanction it. They could pressure buyers. They could support competitors. They could flood the market, destroy prices, or spread rumors to damage trust. With Heavenly Court's wealth, ruining a profitable business was not difficult if they were willing to pay the price.
The tattoo business did not have the same weakness.
It was closer to Dang Hun Mountain's guts Gu, a monopoly-like product that was useful almost everywhere. Whatever Fang Ming produced could be sold easily. So far, he had only sold one variant, the Ironclad defensive tattoo killer move, but demand was never the problem.
The real issue was self-consumption.
Tattoo killer moves directly affected Fang Ming's battle readiness. He would soon be engaging in many high-risk battles, and each major battle could consume hundreds of tattoo killer moves. His current production was already pitifully low, yet it was still split between sale and internal use. Fang Ming would rather stop selling tattoos completely and reserve all production for himself.
He also wanted to expand tattoo production, but the expansion of dream realm formations had priority right now. His funds were tight, and he could only focus on one major project at a time. He could sell Gu or formations to force several projects forward at once, but there was no need yet. Sacrificing long-term benefits for short-term growth was not the right choice unless a truly valuable opportunity appeared before him.
Now that he had Flowing Essence Gu, Fang Ming could finally breathe a little easier.
This Gu did not solve everything immediately, but it gave him a clear direction. As long as he slowly built up internal immortal essence production, he could reduce dependence on external income. In the future, he could reclaim more tattoo production lines for his own use and let those battle-ready methods accumulate instead of being sold away for stones.
Rank six output was not high, but the direction was correct. If he copied more variants and slowly accumulated them, the pressure on his economy would decrease. If he obtained higher-rank versions in the future, the value would rise wildly. A rank eight Flowing Essence Gu, even if it produced only half of the original Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus's output, could make sects fight over it.
For Fang Ming, this Gu suited his needs perfectly.
Three days passed.
Fang Ming returned Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus without damage and retrieved Dream Garment Immortal Gu. Lang Ya land spirit was satisfied. During these three days, he had studied Dream Garment intensely and gained many ideas, even if he could not immediately refine dream path Gu himself.
Fang Ming was also satisfied.
He had obtained Flowing Essence Gu, a counterfeit variant, and a new direction for his economy.
The trade ended pleasantly.
Just as Fang Ming prepared to leave Lang Ya blessed land, he received a message from Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan wanted to meet for a deal.
Heavenly Essence Treasure Imperial Lotus Immortal Gu produces 5 immortal beads per day (outside world time).
Flowing Essence Gu variant produces 3 immortal beads per day (outside world time).
Fang Ming's immortal aperture naturally generates 3 immortal beads per day (outside world time).