Chapter 201: Joining Lang Ya Sect
Purple smoke dispersed, and Fang Ming appeared in Lang Ya blessed land.
The blessed land was still as vast and strange as before. Clouds floated beneath his feet, hairy men moved between cloud cities, and refinement formations shone faintly in the distance. Compared with the outside world, this place always felt isolated from the chaos of the 5 regions. It had its own order, its own arrogance, and its own ancient foundation.
Of course, that impression lasted only until Lang Ya land spirit appeared.
"Hahaha! Fang Ming, you finally came!" Lang Ya land spirit laughed loudly, his voice shaking the nearby clouds. His white hair fluttered, and his expression was filled with excitement. "Good, good, good! I knew you were more sensible than Fang Yuan. That boy is cunning and unpleasant, but you have always been more pleasing to deal with."
Fang Ming smiled politely. "Land spirit, it has been some time."
Lang Ya land spirit walked over with large steps and patted Fang Ming's shoulder. "Speak, what trade have you brought this time? Or have you finally decided that the hairy men are the true masters of heaven and earth?"
Fang Ming's smile almost stiffened.
Every time he met this new Lang Ya land spirit, he could not help thinking about Long Hair Ancestor. The old ancestor had once been a legendary refinement path expert who refined Gu for venerables, stood at the peak of an era, and left behind a foundation that countless forces would drool over. Yet after death, one obsession had produced the old gentle land spirit, while another had produced this loud and aggressive one.
Fang Ming sometimes wondered which side was closer to the real Long Hair Ancestor.
Was the real person a sage-like refinement grandmaster, calm and profound, or had there always been this mad arrogance hidden beneath the surface?
The thought passed quickly.
Fang Ming did not come here to judge Long Hair Ancestor's personality. He had come for profit.
He cupped his hands. "Land spirit, I came this time because I want to join Lang Ya Sect."
Lang Ya land spirit froze.
Then his eyes widened.
"You want to join the sect?" he asked.
Fang Ming nodded. "Yes."
Lang Ya land spirit stared at him for a breath, then burst into laughter. "Good! Excellent! You finally woke up. It is not too late. Humanity is rotten, humans are treacherous, and only we hairy men are destined to rule the world. You joining Lang Ya Sect now proves your vision is not bad."
Fang Ming maintained his smile.
Inwardly, his thoughts were calm.
He did not join Lang Ya Sect because he had suddenly become loyal to hairy man supremacy. He also did not join because of friendship. The reason was simple: the balance of benefit had changed.
Before Yi Tian Mountain, Fang Ming stayed outside Lang Ya Sect because he needed freedom. He had to rob Fang Yuan's Hu Immortal blessed land, seize Dang Hun Mountain, take Wisdom Gu, and move without sect restrictions. If he had already become a Lang Ya Sect member at that time, attacking another sect elder's foundation would have created many unnecessary problems.
Now it was different.
Hu Immortal blessed land had already been robbed. Star Form blessed land had already been stripped. Fang Yuan's stored resources had already entered Fang Ming's hands. The main reason to stay outside had vanished.
Joining Lang Ya Sect now gave him more than it restricted him.
Lang Ya blessed land had missions, sect resources, hairy man Gu Immortals, refinement path inheritances, Gu recipes, and the rank 8 Immortal Gu House Refinement Cauldron. It also contained arrangements left behind by Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable. Among all venerables involved in the current era, Thieving Heaven was the one Fang Ming was least wary of for the moment. He did not trust him completely, but compared with Star Constellation, Giant Sun, Spectral Soul, and other terrifying figures, Thieving Heaven's goals were far less directly hostile to Fang Ming.
More importantly, Lang Ya blessed land had refinement path attainments and inheritance depth that could become one of Fang Ming's future roads. If he ever needed a backup toward Dao Lord-level attainment or even a path toward the venerable stage, Lang Ya's foundation could not be ignored.
Protecting Lang Ya, using Lang Ya, and one day absorbing Lang Ya into his own foundation were all parts of the same direction.
Lang Ya land spirit did not know Fang Ming's full thoughts. He only laughed happily, as if another powerful ally had finally stepped onto the correct road.
"Good! Since you want to join, we will settle the pledge now," Lang Ya land spirit said. "Our Lang Ya Sect treats members fairly. As long as you contribute to the sect, the sect will not mistreat you."
Fang Ming's expression remained gentle. "Naturally, but before signing, there is one condition I would like to add."
Lang Ya land spirit's laughter paused. "What condition?"
"I can accept sect rules, mission obligations, and fair contribution exchange. But if I urgently need some sect resource or service in the future, Lang Ya Sect cannot use my urgency to extort me. Prices must follow regular sect rates or agreed market value. I will not demand free benefits, but I also will not accept being exploited by my own sect."
Lang Ya land spirit frowned. "You think I would exploit you?"
Fang Ming looked at him calmly.
Lang Ya land spirit snorted. "Fine, fine. You humans always think too much. Add it, then. Our Lang Ya Sect is broad-minded. We do not need petty tricks."
Fang Ming smiled. "Land spirit is generous."
The pledge was soon completed.
With this, Fang Ming officially became a member of Lang Ya Sect.
Lang Ya land spirit was clearly pleased. He spoke for a while about the future of hairy men, the decline of humans, and the glorious destiny of Lang Ya Sect. Fang Ming listened with a polite expression, occasionally nodding at suitable moments. He did not argue. Letting Lang Ya land spirit enjoy his dream was cheaper than trying to correct him.
After the pledge was settled, Fang Ming immediately moved to his first practical request.
"I want to trade for a package of knowledge related to refining, sorting, conditioning, and processing water path materials."
Lang Ya land spirit looked at him strangely. "Water path? You did not seem interested in that before."
"I gained some water path resources recently," Fang Ming said.
Lang Ya land spirit narrowed his eyes. "Some?"
Fang Ming's smile did not change. "A moderate amount."
Lang Ya land spirit did not believe him at all, but he did not pursue the question. Fang Ming often obtained resources from strange places, and Lang Ya land spirit was already used to him appearing with goods that did not match his apparent foundation.
Water path material processing knowledge was not a core inheritance to Lang Ya. Compared with Immortal Gu recipes or refinement path true inheritances, this was a practical production package. After some negotiation, Fang Ming paid the required contribution and immortal essence stones.
The knowledge was valuable to him.
The 3 Ye clan water path apertures had left him with many water path resource points and raw materials. Without proper processing, selling those goods raw would waste much of their value. With Lang Ya's package, he could begin building formations and processing chains, turning dead potential into income.
After this trade, Fang Ming did not leave.
He turned his attention to the hairy man Gu Immortals.
Lang Ya Sect had 12 hairy man Gu Immortals. They were the core immortal force of the blessed land, but their combat experience was poor. Most of them had grown up under Lang Ya land spirit's protection, immersed in refinement path work and hairy man superiority ideology. They possessed Immortal Gu and resources, but when it came to actual battles, their performance was not impressive.
Fang Ming saw opportunity there.
He proposed to help train them.
Lang Ya land spirit was delighted. In his eyes, Fang Ming had just joined the sect and was already willing to help improve the battle strength of hairy man Gu Immortals. This was proof that Fang Ming was integrating sincerely.
The hairy man Gu Immortals themselves were not so enthusiastic at first.
Many looked at Fang Ming with clear distrust. Some even looked down on him. In Lang Ya blessed land, they had been taught that hairy men were superior and humans were treacherous. Fang Ming might be a new sect member, but he was still human.
One hairy man Gu Immortal crossed his arms and said, "You want to teach us combat?"
Another muttered, "A human teaching hairy men? Hmph."
Fang Ming was not angry.
He only smiled. "Let us test first."
The first sparring match was 1 against 3.
Fang Ming won quickly.
The second was 1 against 5.
The result was the same.
He did not rely on overwhelming force to crush them instantly. Instead, he controlled the rhythm, forced mistakes, avoided their stronger methods, and repeatedly struck at their coordination gaps. His strength path clones pressured them, fire clones disrupted their formations, and his movement forced them to waste immortal essence in the wrong places.
The hairy man Gu Immortals had Immortal Gu, but they lacked battle instinct. Their use of killer moves was stiff, and their cooperation was clumsy. Fang Ming did not need to reveal too many trump cards. He only had to be more experienced.
When the sparring ended, several hairy man Gu Immortals looked at him with changed expressions.
Respect was often easier to gain through fists than through words.
Fang Ming's gaze swept across them and stopped briefly on Sixth Hair.
Sixth Hair also showed admiration, but Fang Ming did not believe it for even a breath.
A Spectral Soul split soul pretending to be impressed by a rank 6 sparring match was almost funny. Fang Ming did not expose him. Sixth Hair had his own plans, and Fang Ming had his own. For now, both sides could continue acting.
After the initial sparring, Fang Ming divided the hairy man Gu Immortals into 3 groups.
He said it was for targeted training.
That reason was not false. Smaller groups made it easier to correct their mistakes, teach cooperation, and design battle patterns around their Gu. But the deeper reason was that Fang Ming wanted access to the Immortal Gu Lang Ya land spirit had lent them.
If all 12 gathered together, the situation would be messy. If they were split into groups, Fang Ming could observe, borrow, demonstrate, and study their Gu more calmly.
He began training them seriously.
He showed them how to avoid wasting immortal essence, how to retreat without collapsing, how to use terrain, how to cover another immortal's activation time, and how to suppress an opponent's Immortal Gu through coordinated methods. Sometimes he borrowed the Gu Lang Ya land spirit had lent them and demonstrated directly. Other times, he lent his own Immortal Gu and asked them to practice suppressing his methods.
On the surface, everything was proper.
Fang Ming was helping Lang Ya Sect improve its battle strength.
The hairy man Gu Immortals also gradually accepted him. Fang Ming did not mock them for their poor combat skill, nor did he flatter them blindly. He pointed out mistakes, demonstrated solutions, and let them see immediate improvement. To immortals who had long lacked practical combat guidance, this was useful.
Lang Ya land spirit watched from afar several times and became increasingly satisfied.
Fang Ming was spending immortal essence to train hairy man Gu Immortals without demanding extra payment. In Lang Ya land spirit's eyes, this was true sect spirit.
Fang Ming did not correct this misunderstanding.
During one training session, he focused on Twelfth Hair.
Twelfth Hair had an Immortal Gu related to enslaving desolate beasts. The Gu was not specialized in eagles, but it could control many different types of desolate beasts. This was exactly what Fang Ming wanted.
His Control Eagle Gu was superior when used on eagles. It matched his enslavement path system, his eagle groups, his eagle formations, and his battle habits. But its specialty was also its limit. Fang Ming had begun thinking beyond eagles, especially after losing 5 desolate eagles and shelving the white heaven plan.
Not every desolate beast was for combat.
Some desolate beasts were resource-producing assets. His desolate eagles shed outer feathers every 3 months. During the following week, their combat strength weakened, but those feathers could be sold for high prices. Desolate eagle eggs were also valuable. Similar examples existed across countless beast types. Cranes, sharks, cloud beasts, insects, shell beasts, and many more could become living resource points if raised correctly.
In the past, Fang Ming had controlled some non-eagle beasts through inefficient methods or temporary arrangements. That was fine when the numbers were low. But if he wanted to build a proper multi-beast resource system, he needed a more versatile Gu.
So during training, Fang Ming asked Twelfth Hair to demonstrate.
Twelfth Hair was proud at first. He explained how the Gu controlled desolate beasts, how to maintain obedience, and where its limits were. Fang Ming listened patiently, asked questions, and then brought out his remaining desolate eagles for demonstration.
Only 4 desolate eagles remained.
That number still made Fang Ming's mood darken, but he concealed it.
Under the excuse of showing Twelfth Hair how to handle a hostile desolate beast in changing battlefield conditions, Fang Ming observed the Gu repeatedly. He analyzed its aura, structure, effect, and activation rhythm. After several rounds, the copy system completed its work.
Control Desolate Beast Gu.
The copied Gu was almost identical in function to Twelfth Hair's Gu.
Fang Ming was satisfied.
For eagles, Control Eagle Gu remained superior. But Control Desolate Beast Gu opened new directions. If he wanted to raise cloud beasts, sharks, cranes, or other resource-producing desolate beasts in the future, this Gu would be extremely useful.
Cloud beasts returned to his thoughts.
His previous plan to enter white heaven had been shelved after losing 5 desolate eagles, but the idea itself was not abandoned. Cloud beasts were valuable. They were hard to kill, useful in battle, and could produce long-term resources. The main restriction was environment. Ordinary blessed lands could not easily raise cloud beasts. Tai Bai Yun Sheng's aperture could because of its sky-like environment, and now Fang Ming's sovereign immortal aperture had 9 heavens.
The 9 heavens were empty.
Empty space was waste.
Fang Ming did not need to rush into white heaven immediately, but sooner or later, cloud beasts would become part of his development plan.
After Twelfth Hair, Fang Ming turned his attention to Fourth Hair.
Fourth Hair possessed Cloud Gu.
This Gu attracted Fang Ming for 2 reasons.
First, it had battle use. It could create cloud shields, cover the battlefield with fog-like clouds, disrupt vision, create afterimages, and interfere with enemy movement. In the right terrain, it could turn a clear battlefield into a confusing cloud zone.
Second, it had production value. Cloud Gu could create permanent clouds. These clouds could become part of an aperture's environment, forming platforms, layers, or farming regions for cloud path materials. For a Gu Immortal with 9 empty heavens inside his aperture, this was not a small attraction.
Fang Ming did not have deep cloud path attainment, and cloud path dao marks were not one of his main foundations. That limited immediate battle use. But utility Gu did not always need to become the center of combat. Sometimes a Gu was valuable because it solved environmental and production problems.
During training, Fang Ming borrowed Cloud Gu several times.
Fourth Hair showed how to form cloud shields. Fang Ming improved the positioning. Fourth Hair used clouds to block visibility. Fang Ming pointed out how enemies could still track aura movement. Fourth Hair tried afterimage clouds. Fang Ming used clones to test the gaps.
By the end of the session, Fourth Hair had gained real combat advice.
Fang Ming had also copied Cloud Gu.
Both sides were satisfied, though for different reasons.
Days passed like this.
The hairy man Gu Immortals became more familiar with Fang Ming. Their initial disdain faded, replaced by a mixture of respect, competitiveness, and curiosity. They still believed hairy men were superior, but Fang Ming had become an exception in their eyes, or at least a useful human who had chosen the correct side.
Fang Ming did not mind.
A useful misunderstanding was still useful.
Lang Ya land spirit became more pleased with each passing day. He even praised Fang Ming several times, saying that Fang Ming had more sect spirit than Fang Yuan and understood the importance of supporting hairy man comrades.
Fang Ming accepted the praise modestly.
He had copied Control Desolate Beast Gu.
He had copied Cloud Gu.
He had improved relations with the hairy man Gu Immortals.
He had gained access to Lang Ya's internal operations.
And he had done all of this under the label of helping the sect.
This was a good start.
A week after Fang Ming joined Lang Ya Sect, Lang Ya land spirit finally sent him the message he had been waiting for.
Nirvana Fire Gu had been refined.
Fang Ming went to the refinement hall.
The hall was surrounded by dense refinement path dao marks, and the aura of Refinement Cauldron lingered faintly in the air. Even though the rank 8 Immortal Gu House did not fully reveal itself, its pressure could still be felt through the formations.
Lang Ya land spirit stood beside a refinement formation with a smug expression.
"Done," he said. "Blazing Heaven Demoness's will has been completely removed. From now on, this Nirvana Fire Gu is yours."
Fang Ming's gaze fell on the rank 7 Immortal Gu inside the formation.
Nirvana Fire Gu floated quietly, its flame restrained but profound. It no longer carried the faint resistance from Blazing Heaven Demoness's will. The Gu's aura had become clean, stable, and fully responsive.
Fang Ming reached out.
Nirvana Fire Gu landed in his hand.
He refined it again with his own will, and this time there was no obstruction. The process was smooth. A rank 7 Immortal Gu that once belonged to Blazing Heaven Demoness had now become completely his.
Fang Ming's smile deepened.
Nirvana Fire Gu was not an ordinary gain. It was a rank 7 fire path Immortal Gu, and his fire path attainment had already reached grandmaster. Even though he was still rank 6, the sovereign immortal aperture removed dao mark conflict, and his future with fire path had become much wider. Once he reached rank 7 and could copy rank 7 Gu, Nirvana Fire Gu would become even more meaningful.
Lang Ya land spirit looked at him. "Remember, this was done according to regular pricing. You insisted on that clause yourself."
Fang Ming smiled. "Land spirit is fair."
"Hmph, of course I am fair," Lang Ya land spirit said proudly. "Our Lang Ya Sect does not need to cheat its own members."
Fang Ming put away Nirvana Fire Gu.
His first stage inside Lang Ya Sect had gone smoothly.
He had joined the sect.
He had obtained water path material processing knowledge.
He had copied useful Immortal Gu from the hairy man immortals.
He had strengthened his position inside Lang Ya.
And now, Nirvana Fire Gu was fully his.
Outside, heaven's will was pressing down. Shadow Sect was suspicious. Ye clan had begun moving. Heavenly Court had yet to show its hand.
But inside Lang Ya blessed land, Fang Ming had opened another door.
And behind that door, there were still many benefits waiting to be taken.