Chapter 202: Guts Gu and Fang Yuan's Return
After Nirvana Fire Gu became fully his, Fang Ming did not leave Lang Ya blessed land immediately.
Lang Ya blessed land was too useful.
In the outside world, heaven's will kept pressing down, Ye clan's hidden threat had not disappeared, Shadow Sect had begun suspecting him, and Heavenly Court had yet to make its true move. But inside Lang Ya blessed land, there were hairy man Gu Immortals, refinement path inheritances, massive stores of Gu recipes, and the rank 8 Immortal Gu House Refinement Cauldron. Fang Ming had already taken some benefits after joining, but he had no intention of stopping there.
His next target was not an Immortal Gu.
It was business.
Dang Hun Mountain had already been in Fang Ming's hands for some time. After robbing Hu Immortal blessed land, he had taken over Fang Yuan's old guts Gu business, but taking over a monopoly and properly expanding it were 2 different things. Guts Gu had terrifying demand. Soul path cultivation, Gu Master training, soul foundation strengthening, beast soul nourishment, and many other needs could consume them endlessly. As long as Fang Ming could supply them, buyers would come.
The problem was Air Sac Gu.
Guts Gu could not be transported casually. Air Sac Gu was needed to contain and sell them. Without a steady supply of Air Sac Gu, Dang Hun Mountain's production was like a gold mine with a narrow road leading out. The mountain could produce wealth, but the road could not carry all of it.
Fang Ming already had many refinement Gu Masters under him, but they were stretched thin. His internal projects had expanded too quickly. Dream path mortal Gu refinement alone consumed many of his better refinement experts. Other Gu Masters were busy maintaining production lines, repairing formations, processing materials, and supporting Eagle Sect's growing business. Air Sac Gu was not easy to refine either. It required skilled refinement Gu Masters and stable production, not random workers pulled from somewhere.
Because of this, Fang Ming's guts Gu sales had not risen after taking Dang Hun Mountain.
They had even dropped for a while.
This caused dissatisfaction among buyers.
Immortal Crane Sect was dissatisfied. Spirit Affinity House was dissatisfied. Other hidden buyers and middlemen were also dissatisfied. Fang Ming had taken over the business, raised the price, reduced stable supply, and then delayed deliveries. From their point of view, this was naturally unpleasant.
Fang Ming did not care about their feelings.
He raised prices anyway.
The fixed-amount sale agreements with Immortal Crane Sect and Spirit Affinity House were also canceled. Fang Ming had no interest in letting old arrangements chain his new monopoly. If they wanted guts Gu, they could buy according to his new terms.
And his new terms were shameless.
Guts Gu were no longer sold alone whenever Fang Ming felt like bundling goods.
If buyers wanted a large batch of guts Gu, they also had to accept other products. Refinement materials, heavy metals, jade spiders, shark groups, dolphin groups, whale groups, dragonfish groups, magma cranes, ordinary beast groups, processed materials, raw materials, and random goods taken from Zombie Alliance resource points could all be bundled together.
Some buyers were furious.
Some cursed privately.
Some tried to negotiate.
But in the end, most still bought.
Guts Gu was a monopoly product. If they did not buy from Fang Ming, they would have no other source. Fang Ming understood this very clearly. Slow-selling inventory was not worthless as long as it could be tied to something everyone wanted. Since guts Gu had demand, it could drag other products along with it.
He even sold bundles of guts Gu and magma crane groups to Immortal Crane Sect.
The arrangement was absurd, but effective.
Fang Ming's current business had become so broad and messy that even he found it amusing at times. He sold food beasts, healing services, calamity services, material processing, fire path resources, water path materials, shark products, light fungus, jade spiders, dragonfish, magma cranes, raw goods, processed goods, and now guts Gu bundles. Whatever sold quickly became a pillar. Whatever sold slowly was thrown into a bundle.
This was not elegant.
It was profitable.
After robbing Zombie Alliance resource points, Fang Ming's food beast business was still valuable, but it was no longer in the top 3 of his economic foundation.
The first pillar was the underwater apocalyptic volcano taken from Blazing Heaven Demoness's foundation. That resource point had layers of formations inside it, and even Fang Ming, as a formation grandmaster, had been impressed by their depth. The volcano produced rank 8, rank 7, and rank 6 fire path materials at stable intervals. It also produced many types of fire path Immortal Gu food and 17 types of rank 5 fire Gu in large quantities. This was one of Blazing Heaven Demoness's main income sources, and now it belonged to Fang Ming.
The second pillar came from a water path rank 8 immortal zombie's resource point. That place had been troublesome to steal because it was guarded by dozens of desolate shark beasts and several ancient desolate sharks. Eagle Sect Gu Immortals had not fought them head-on. They played hide-and-seek for a long time, using formations, concealment, and repeated movement to strip the resource point while avoiding direct confrontation with the strongest beasts.
The third pillar was underwater light fungus, another rank 8 immortal zombie's main resource point. It combined light path, wood path, and water path, making it valuable but also more troublesome to process and manage. Fang Ming had already sent people to study its production cycle and connect it with his growing material-processing network.
Only after these did food path come 4th, and that was after he took over several Junglefowl food-beast blessed lands.
This diversity changed Fang Ming's position.
Before, if Heavenly Court wanted to attack his food beast business, they could support competitors, flood the market, block buyers, or pressure Central Continent sects to stop trading. But now Fang Ming's business was too scattered. He was not relying on 1 product, 1 region, or 1 buyer group. His goods entered Eastern Sea, Northern Plains, Central Continent, and private immortal circles through different channels. Some products had nothing to do with each other. Some buyers did not even know they were buying from the same source.
In Eastern Sea especially, Fang Ming's trade had expanded sharply. Through Miao Ming Shen's reputation, Zombie Alliance's stolen resource points, and many disconnected goods, Fang Ming's business presence had grown to a size that could not be casually crushed. He did not truly control 10% of Eastern Sea commerce, but his products and trade lines now touched around that scale of market movement. To sanction him directly would affect too many unrelated transactions, offend too many middlemen, and create too much confusion.
Heavenly Court could still move.
But it could no longer solve the issue by simply flooding one market.
Fang Ming did not need guts Gu income to survive anymore.
But not needing it and ignoring it were different matters.
Dang Hun Mountain was a golden mine. Leaving a golden mine half-used just because he had other mines was foolish. More importantly, guts Gu bundles could clear slow inventory. If he increased guts Gu sales by 6 times, he could also increase bundled inventory sales by 6 times. Goods that would otherwise remain in storage for years could be pushed into buyers' hands through the monopoly.
That was why Fang Ming came to Lang Ya land spirit.
"Air Sac Gu?" Lang Ya land spirit stroked his beard and looked at Fang Ming suspiciously. "You want my hairy men to refine Air Sac Gu for you in large quantities?"
Fang Ming nodded. "Yes. Lang Ya blessed land has many refinement Gu Masters, and the sect has strong refinement path management. I will provide recipes, materials, and payment. Lang Ya Sect refines Air Sac Gu for me. Afterward, I fill them with guts Gu and sell them."
Lang Ya land spirit's eyes moved. "You took Dang Hun Mountain, so you now want to expand Fang Yuan's old business."
"Correct."
Lang Ya land spirit snorted. "You are quite direct."
"There is no need to hide it," Fang Ming said calmly. "Lang Ya Sect earns refinement fees. I expand guts Gu sales. Both sides profit."
Lang Ya land spirit did not agree immediately.
He was impulsive in some matters, but he was not stupid when refinement resources and sect labor were involved. Air Sac Gu production would occupy many hairy man Gu Masters. It would require scheduling, material flow, supervision, and stable delivery. If Fang Ming wanted large quantities, the matter had to be settled with clear terms.
The negotiations lasted a long time.
Lang Ya land spirit wanted higher refinement fees.
Fang Ming wanted stable output and no sudden price changes.
Lang Ya land spirit wanted the sect to keep part of the Air Sac Gu.
Fang Ming refused unless Lang Ya paid market price.
Lang Ya land spirit argued that Fang Ming was now a Lang Ya Sect member and should contribute to the sect.
Fang Ming replied that he was already contributing by giving the sect a long-term paid refinement order, and that friendly cooperation did not mean handing over monopoly profits.
The 2 sides argued back and forth. At several points, Lang Ya land spirit became so excited that his beard shook. Fang Ming remained calm throughout, calculating each term carefully. He did not mind paying, but he would not let Lang Ya land spirit turn this into an excuse to take advantage of him.
Eventually, they reached an agreement.
Lang Ya Sect would organize hairy man Gu Masters to refine Air Sac Gu for Fang Ming in bulk. Fang Ming would provide most materials and pay refinement fees according to agreed rates. Production quotas, delivery intervals, failure costs, and compensation terms were all written clearly. Lang Ya Sect could purchase a small portion of guts Gu from Fang Ming at a sect-member price, but could not interfere with his external sales.
Fang Ming was satisfied.
With Lang Ya's support, his guts Gu business could expand greatly. His previous monthly guts Gu income was around 1,000 immortal stones. If Air Sac Gu production stabilized, that number could rise toward 6,000 immortal stones. The true value was even greater because of bundling. Every extra batch of guts Gu could drag along more slow-selling products.
Inventory pressure would drop sharply.
Cash flow would rise.
Trade contacts would become more dependent on him.
This deal was worth the negotiation.
After the agreement was settled, Fang Ming prepared to leave.
He still had many things to handle outside. Eagle Sect's injured immortals had not fully recovered, the Ye clan issue needed continued monitoring, and Shadow Sect's bait through Hei Lou Lan was still hanging there. Lang Ya blessed land was useful, but he could not remain here forever.
Just as he was about to depart, Lang Ya land spirit suddenly received a message.
His expression changed slightly, then he laughed.
"Fang Yuan wants to use Star Gu to enter Lang Ya blessed land," Lang Ya land spirit said. "The other elder of Lang Ya Sect is coming."
Fang Ming paused.
Fang Yuan?
His first thought was not Fang Yuan.
It was Ying Wu Xie.
After Yi Tian Mountain, Fang Ming had already deduced that Ying Wu Xie was likely using Fang Yuan's immortal zombie body, while the real Fang Yuan had switched into another body. But deduction was deduction. The situation after Yi Tian Mountain was chaotic, and Shadow Sect had many methods. If "Fang Yuan" suddenly appeared at Lang Ya blessed land, Fang Ming's first suspicion naturally went toward Ying Wu Xie.
Fang Ming's expression did not change, but his thoughts moved quickly.
He activated Heavenly Clone Eye.
His vision shifted through the hidden clone inside Hei Lou Lan's aperture.
A scene appeared before him.
Ying Wu Xie's group was in a miserable state, fleeing under pressure. An earth dragon was chasing them, its enormous body tearing through the ground and forcing them to move constantly. Hei Lou Lan, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, and the others were clearly not inside Lang Ya blessed land. Ying Wu Xie was there, still trapped in heaven's will's pursuit.
Fang Ming's eyes narrowed faintly.
Then who was this Fang Yuan?
The answer arrived a moment later.
Lang Ya land spirit activated the arrangement, and starlight flickered inside the blessed land. Space shifted, and a figure appeared before them.
Fang Ming looked at him carefully.
The body was not Fang Yuan's old immortal zombie body. That body was still with Ying Wu Xie. The person before him had short black hair, a living body, and an aura different from before. But the eyes were familiar.
Cold black eyes.
Calm, deep, and expressionless, as if nothing in front of him could truly shake his heart.
Fang Ming recognized him.
This was Fang Yuan.
The real Fang Yuan.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Lang Ya land spirit did not seem to sense the strange silence. He only laughed and said, "Good, both elders are here. This is rare."
Fang Ming smiled brightly.
"Hey Fang Yuan," he said. "It has been a long time."
Fang Yuan looked at him expressionlessly.
Then he smiled faintly.
"It has indeed been a long time," Fang Yuan said. "The last time we met properly, fellow daoist robbed my Hu Immortal blessed land. When are you planning to return my things?"
The air became quiet.
Lang Ya land spirit's laughter stopped.
Fang Ming's smile did not fade.
"Don't worry about the small things. I took those as payment for saving you from a Venerable."