Chapter 199: Heaven's Will Presses Down
A few months passed after Fang Ming obtained the sovereign immortal aperture.
The storm of Yi Tian Mountain had shaken the world, but not every wave appeared on the surface immediately. Southern Border was still sorting through its losses, Shadow Sect had vanished into the dark, Heavenly Court had yet to openly stretch its hand toward Fang Ming, and Zombie Alliance's disappearance had not fully turned into a continent-shaking investigation. To outsiders, the world seemed to be moving through the aftermath of a great event.
To Fang Ming, this short period was not peace.
It was stolen time.
The first matter he handled was the promise he had made to Eagle Sect.
After the Hu Immortal blessed land robbery and the Zombie Alliance resource point raids, Fang Ming had promised that each participating Eagle Sect Gu Immortal could choose 1 Immortal Gu from the inventory. A promise like this could not be delayed for too long. If rewards were spoken lightly and paid slowly, then even loyal subordinates would begin calculating in their hearts.
Fang Ming did not give them his original Gu.
He copied Immortal Gu according to their needs and handed over the promised rewards. To Eagle Sect Gu Immortals, this was an earth-shaking gain. Before this, they had often borrowed Fang Ming's Immortal Gu for missions, but borrowed Gu were still borrowed Gu. They could use them under orders, but they could not truly build their entire battle system around them. Now, each of them finally possessed an Immortal Gu that belonged to them.
The Hua Fairies were the happiest. The 3 sisters already had good cooperation, and now with Immortal Gu of their own, their coordination inside Tyrannical Barbarian battle formation became far more flexible. Bian Si Xuan and Ju Go were calmer on the surface, but even their eyes changed when they refined their Gu. For wandering Gu Immortals and small-force immortals, obtaining even 1 Immortal Gu could change their future.
To Fang Ming, this was also a profitable trade.
He had not weakened himself. Instead, Eagle Sect's strength rose, the sect's usefulness rose, and his own arrangements became more stable. Compared to what he had gained from Hu Immortal blessed land, Dang Hun Mountain, Wisdom Gu, Fang Yuan's stored materials, and Zombie Alliance resource points, paying these Immortal Gu was completely acceptable.
A Gu Immortal who only hoarded benefits for himself would always need to personally handle every problem. Fang Ming did not want that. He wanted useful people under him, and useful people had to be fed with real profit.
During this period, Eagle Sect also gained another Gu Immortal.
The one who ascended was called Xiao Ming.
He had been a Gu Master raised inside Eagle Sect's internal system, and his talent was not shocking. Compared with monsters like Fang Yuan, Hei Lou Lan, or the famous geniuses of super forces, Xiao Ming could only be considered steady. But Fang Ming had never expected every subordinate to be a genius. A steady subordinate with loyalty, discipline, and usefulness was often better than a genius with too many thoughts.
Xiao Ming's immortal ascension was not grand. His tribulation was controlled, supported, and watched from start to finish. Fang Ming used formations, Eagle Sect Gu Masters, and prepared resources to reduce the risk as much as possible. When Xiao Ming finally became a rank 6 Gu Immortal, Eagle Sect's immortal lineup grew again.
The current Eagle Sect Gu Immortals were the 3 Hua Fairies, Bian Si Xuan, Ju Go, and Xiao Ming.
This was still a small number compared with super forces, but for Fang Ming's style of operation, it was already useful.
While Eagle Sect strengthened internally, Fang Ming also expanded his business outside.
Northern Plains was the first direction.
Fairy Li Shan's introductions had value, and Fang Ming did not waste them. With her network and guarantee, he contacted many rank 6 Gu Immortals. Some were lone immortals, some had small clans behind them, and some were poor cultivators struggling with calamities and tribulations. Fang Ming did not present himself with one fixed business. Instead, he offered what each person needed.
If they had injuries, he offered Human as Before.
If they feared an approaching calamity, he offered Calamity Beckoning.
If they raised beast groups or needed Gu food, he offered food beasts at discounted prices.
If they had raw materials that could not be sold for a good price, he offered material processing services.
Many rank 6 Gu Immortals were not rich. They would calculate over a few immortal essence stones, bargain over minor discounts, and hesitate for days before making a decision. Fang Ming did not mind. Small trades accumulated, trust accumulated, and once a few people benefited, they would speak about it in their circles.
He was no longer trying to make one spectacular transaction. He was spreading roots.
Eastern Sea expanded even more smoothly.
This time, Fang Ming approached Miao Ming Shen.
Miao Ming Shen had a good reputation in Eastern Sea. He was famous for keeping promises, being broad-minded, and treating others fairly. Such a reputation was hard to buy. When someone like Miao Ming Shen acted as a guarantor and contact, many Eastern Sea Gu Immortals who would normally hesitate became willing to meet Fang Ming.
Eastern Sea Gu Immortals were generally wealthier than Northern Plains lone immortals. Their apertures and resource points often had better income, and their trade environment was more developed. Fang Ming's services found fertile ground there. Human as Before alone attracted many inquiries. Injuries were one of the most common problems among Gu Immortals, and a reliable healing Immortal Gu service could save years of recovery.
Calamity Beckoning drew fewer immediate buyers, but the ones who were tempted were more serious. Not every Gu Immortal wanted to admit fear of calamities, but when their next tribulation approached and their confidence was low, face could be set aside.
Food beasts continued selling. Material processing also grew slowly.
Fang Ming gained immortal essence, resources, contacts, and more importantly, a flow of opportunities. Through trade, he learned who had which needs, who owned what resource points, who had enemies, who lacked Gu food, who feared calamities, and who might be tempted by future cooperation.
Business was information.
Information was opportunity.
Opportunity was profit.
For a while, everything seemed to be developing in a good direction.
Then heaven's will began pressing down.
At first, the incidents looked like coincidences.
A group of Eagle Sect Gu Masters transporting materials encountered a desolate beast that should not have appeared along that route. Fairy Fen Meng's group was suddenly attacked by a demonic Gu Immortal while passing through a remote sea area. Fairy Huang Sha's mission ran into a beast tide that had changed direction without warning. A trade contact who had been friendly the previous day suddenly became cold and delayed the agreed transaction, causing Fang Ming's people to remain in one place longer than planned.
Once could be coincidence.
Twice could be poor luck.
But when such things happened again and again, Fang Ming no longer treated them as ordinary accidents.
Heaven's will had noticed him.
Or rather, after he stole Sovereign Immortal Fetus Gu and survived, heaven's will had begun treating him as a true target.
Fang Ming had expected this, but expectation did not reduce the cost. Heaven's will did not need to descend personally or shout its hatred. It only needed to slightly adjust the direction of a desolate beast, make a demonic immortal choose one route instead of another, let a clue fall into the wrong hand, or make a small delay appear at the wrong time.
For ordinary people, such changes were invisible.
For Fang Ming, they were like countless needles stabbing his arrangements.
He became a firefighter.
Wherever Eagle Sect Gu Immortals went, trouble seemed to follow. Some incidents were resolved quickly. Some required support. Some brought no loss, only wasted time and immortal essence. But every problem delayed business expansion, disrupted plans, and forced Fang Ming to spend attention that should have gone elsewhere.
The worst incident happened when 3 Eagle Sect Gu Immortals were attacked almost at the same time.
Fairy Huang Sha was ambushed first.
Her attackers were not weak. They had prepared methods to seal the surroundings, and their attacks came with fierce killing intent. Fang Ming immediately dispatched Bian Si Xuan, Ju Go, and Xiao Ming to assist her. Xiao Ming had only recently become a Gu Immortal, but he could not be sheltered forever. If he wanted to stand among Eagle Sect immortals, he had to experience real battles.
At almost the same time, Fairy Fen Meng encountered desolate beasts.
The situation on her side was even worse. The enemy was not intelligent enough to negotiate with, and her position was too far from the others. Fang Ming sent all 9 of his desolate eagles to assist her. He did not expect them to win cleanly. He only needed them to stall for time and keep Fairy Fen Meng alive.
Then Fairy Qing Suo was attacked.
Fang Ming went personally.
The fight that followed was brutal.
On Fairy Huang Sha's side, Bian Si Xuan and Ju Go arrived in time. Xiao Ming fought nervously at first, but after the first exchange, he gradually stabilized. The Immortal Gu Fang Ming had rewarded them showed its value immediately. Their individual combat strength was still not amazing, but they were no longer helpless rank 6 Gu Immortals relying only on mortal killer moves and borrowed methods. They could coordinate, suppress, retreat, and counterattack.
On Fairy Fen Meng's side, the 9 desolate eagles fought desperately. They were fast, fierce, and well-trained, but the situation was too poor. The desolate beasts attacking her were not few, and heaven's will seemed to guide every bad movement toward the worst result. Several times, Fairy Fen Meng almost died. Several times, a desolate eagle used its own body to block the decisive strike.
On Fairy Qing Suo's side, Fang Ming arrived with killing intent.
His strength path and fire path methods erupted one after another. Strength clones filled the surroundings, fire clones mixed among them, and explosions tore through the battlefield. The enemy tried to retreat once Fang Ming appeared, but Fang Ming did not allow it. Since heaven's will had sent this trouble to him, he would at least tear away some flesh before letting it end.
But even after winning, Fang Ming gained almost nothing.
The attackers had little wealth. The desolate beasts brought no useful resource point. The battlefield was remote, the expenditure was high, and the injuries were severe.
When everything finally ended, Eagle Sect had no Gu Immortal casualties, but the price was heavy.
Fairy Huang Sha was badly injured.
Fairy Fen Meng was almost crippled and had to rely on Human as Before Gu to recover.
Fairy Qing Suo also needed rest.
Xiao Ming survived his first true immortal-level crisis, but his face remained pale for several days afterward. Bian Si Xuan and Ju Go were better, yet even they consumed far more immortal essence than Fang Ming liked.
The greatest loss was the desolate eagles.
5 died protecting Fairy Fen Meng.
When Fang Ming received the final report, his expression darkened.
Desolate eagles were not ordinary beasts. They were combat strength, scouts, transportation, resource producers, and part of his enslavement path system. In another timeline, Fang Ming had invested more heavily into eagle nest formations. But in this timeline, most of his copy opportunities and effort had been poured into Flowing Essence Gu, and he had only completed 1 eagle nest formation.
Losing 5 desolate eagles at once was not a small cut.
It was a wound.
Still, Fang Ming understood one thing clearly. If he had not rewarded Eagle Sect Gu Immortals with Immortal Gu after the robbery operation, this incident might have been far worse. With their previous combat strength, he might not have lost only eagles. He might have lost 2 Gu Immortals.
That would have been a true disaster.
Inside the temporary command hall of one hidden blessed land, Fang Ming looked at the reports placed before him.
Fairy Fen Meng was still recovering. Fairy Huang Sha's injuries had stabilized. Fairy Qing Suo's condition was manageable. The dead eagles could not return. Several business routes had to be suspended. Multiple trade contacts had to be delayed. A number of Eagle Sect Gu Masters were frightened, and morale needed to be stabilized.
Fang Ming tapped the table lightly.
Originally, he had planned to enter white heaven and begin hunting or collecting cloud beasts. The sovereign immortal aperture had 9 heavens, and they were currently empty. Cloud beasts were valuable, difficult to kill, and excellent for long-term resource generation. If he could build a cloud beast industry early, the 9 heavens would begin producing income instead of remaining empty space.
But now that plan had to be shelved.
With only 4 desolate eagles left, pushing into white heaven was too risky. Eagle Sect Gu Immortals also needed time to recover and adjust their new combat systems. Business expansion had to slow down. The cloud beast plan would wait.
Fang Ming was greedy, but he was not blind.
A plan that ignored losses would only turn greed into suicide.
He dismissed the reports and walked out of the hall.
Outside, the hidden blessed land was quiet. Eagle Sect Gu Masters moved between formations, transporting materials, repairing damaged Gu houses, and sending messages. Compared with the chaos outside, this place seemed stable. But Fang Ming knew the stability was temporary.
Heaven's will would not stop.
It had not destroyed him in one blow, but it did not need to. It could make every step cost more, make every helper suffer more, make every expansion attract trouble, and make every opportunity come mixed with poison.
Fang Ming looked toward the sky.
After obtaining Sovereign Immortal Fetus Gu, his foundation had risen sharply. His aperture was vast. His dao marks were no longer in conflict. His future had become wider than ever before.
But the world had also changed its attitude toward him.
Before, he had been a hidden thief picking opportunities from the side.
Now, heaven's will had begun to press down on him directly.
Fang Ming smiled coldly.
"That is fine."
If the road became harder, then he would walk more carefully. If heaven's will used beasts, immortals, and coincidences as knives, then he would break those knives and take what remained. If losses were unavoidable, then he would make sure each loss taught him where the next profit could be found.
The white heaven cloud beast plan was postponed.
Eagle Sect's expansion slowed.
The injured immortals recovered.
And Fang Ming began adjusting every plan under him, because from this point onward, he could no longer treat heaven's will as distant pressure.
It had become an enemy standing beside every road.