Once he was an immortal, what were the petty amount of resources that he had taken from the Gu Yue Clan? He could return them tenfold, or settle his debt to Bai Ning Bing. As a matter of fact, the Immortal Ascension would wipe away the dao marks inscribed upon him by Poison Vow Gu; he would no longer be bound by it.
He would have no use for the Beggar Sect, but he could give Shang Xin Ci ample opportunities in order to advance under him using them.
Of course, the Elders could not see it this way, and Fang Yuan understood their perspective. Even Fang Zheng did not fully understand it. If he had been in their shoes and the Clan Leader told them that he was planning to ascend to Rank 6 soon and that they would not need to worry about resources after that, he would think that the Clan Head was a madman who did not know what he was talking about, or who would end up failing to ascend to Rank 6 entirely, die, and then leave the clan in dire straits after having milked it dry.
He wasn't sure if the Goody-Two-Shoes System would still attempt to restrict him after his Immortal Ascension, but keeping Gu Yue Village alive was worth it if he was still getting Human Path dao marks from it.
Fang Yuan also wasn't sure entirely how the paintings would be involved in this Immortal Ascension. Upon wrestling with the concept more, the only thing that he could truly find the desire to do was to speak with Paradise Earth. Fang Yuan did not trust anyone, let alone Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable, a righteous path Venerable who would have great reason to want to harm Fang Yuan. However, between the two of them and Paradise Earth, it was clear who was less likely to cause direct harm to Fang Yuan.
He did not take the White Form Immortal Snake, instead choosing to use Dragon Wings Gu, a Rank 4 gu worm he had gotten from fighting the Thousand Scales Dragon.
That had been a difficult fight, with his Ink Dragon Gu still partially injured from it and needing time to recover. However, Rank four Dragon Wings Gu was a first-class Rank 4 movement-type gu, and Fang Yuan was quite experienced with flying.
With practically limitless primeval essence when it came to using a Rank 4 gu worm, he flew back toward the location of the Mushroomman Blessed Land where it had opened. As he got closer, his Spring Autumn Cicada vibrated within his aperture, and a hole appeared revealing the interior of the Blessed Land.
Fang Yuan flew down to the same table where he had met Paradise Earth's Will twice before. As expected, the man appeared before him yet again.
"Congratulations on obtaining the Righteous Virtue Physique, Fang Yuan," Paradise Earth said. "Perhaps this means that you are finally ready to turn over a new leaf, and embrace the path of righteousness?"
"Your information was incomplete," Fang Yuan complained, ignoring Paradise Earth's latter comment. "I had to use Thieving Heaven's help and my own Blood Path methods in order to complete this."
"Hmm. Well, what can I say?" Paradise Earth said, shrugging. "All's well that ends well, isn't it, Fang Yuan?"
Fang Yuan was not entirely pleased, so he moved on to his next question. "Will the Righteous Virtue Physique pose any problems to me when I try ascending to Rank Six?"
"No, it won't," Paradise Earth said. "The Righteous Virtue Physique by itself will not cause any further issues." He paused. "That isn't to say that there aren't going to be problems during your Immortal Ascension, Fang Yuan."
"What kind of problems?" Fang Yuan asked.
Paradise Earth paused, wondering exactly how to answer Fang Yuan. He then glanced upwards to see that the blessed land was still sealed off.
"Fang Yuan... I suppose there's one thing that you should know of before you attempt to ascend to Rank 6. Are you familiar with the concept of Heaven's Will?"
"Heaven's Will?" Fang Yuan asked, frowning.
"Yes. Much as people and animals have their own Wills," Paradise Earth said. "Heaven, that is to say the law of Heaven itself, also has its own Will. It is constantly present everywhere throughout the five regions and two heavens. The only place where Heaven's Will cannot permeate is into a Gu Immortal's aperture - ordinarily, that is, of course, with the exception of tribulations and calamities. Heaven's Will is otherwise omnipresent. Even if it is consumed in one location, it is immediately replenished once more. The goal of Heaven's Will is to maintain balance throughout the regions - replenish deficits and diminish surpluses. Such is the way of Heaven."
"Many things we observe in nature and with Cultivation are actually the doing of Heaven's Will. It is Heaven's Will that dictates the severity of calamities and tribulations. It is Heaven's Will that influences the formation of Lifespan Gu and tapers this process when Venerables emerge. Heaven's Will exists in the minds of creatures generated by the tribulations sent to a Gu Immortal's aperture. Animals and lower life forms can be influenced by it directly - humans less so, but even then we are not entirely immune to its influence unless we directly guard against it. It can even exist within gu worms. It is what governs the law of the world, Fang Yuan. It can be said to be neither benign nor evil - concerned only with maintaining balance."
"So, there's a problem with Heaven's Will, then?" Fang Yuan asked. "It's going to do something if I try to ascend to Rank 6?"
"Heaven's Will is powerful but not omnipotent," Paradise Earth said. "It still has to work within its own rules and regulations. And the Human Path directly challenges its authority and it has its own countermeasures against such. Because of Heaven's Will, the development of the Human Path has been greatly limited - most advances had been made possible only by Venerables and Otherworldly Demons to a certain extent. Once you actually ascend to Rank 6, this time, you will begin to understand deeper into what Heaven's Will's plan is. But don't worry," Paradise Earth said, waving his hand. "Regarding your calamities and tribulations, there is still ways to deal with them, even if they are strong. As you may know, I've created various paradises free of tribulations and calamities with my methods. You do not need to worry about ascending towards Rank 6. Simply finish the paintings that Genesis Lotus gave you and rest assured that we will help you in your ascension."
"Trust you? How do I know I can trust you?" Fang Yuan asked.
Paradise Earth chuckled. "Truly. The demon who betrayed everyone is asking I, Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable, whether or not I can be trusted? Why don't you think about that, Fang Yuan? I think that's all that we need to talk about right now. We will meet again during your Immortal Ascension. Would you like me to teleport you back to Gu Yue Village on Bei Gu Mountain?"
"Fine," Fang Yuan said, finding himself transported there as Paradise Earth waved his hand.
Fang Yuan saw the setting sun atop Bei Gu Mountain. This mountain, Gu Yue village, all of it were miniscule compared to the scale of his ambition.
Regardless of what doubts or second-guesses he had, he could not progress further without becoming an Immortal.
The world of mortals, in which most people lived, was simply a tiny pond, incomparable to the wide ocean that was the Immortal realm. Fang Yuan himself had barely been like a small child frolicking in the shallow shores of that vast ocean before he had been forced to regress using the Spring Autumn Cicada.
This time though, he would dive into its deepest depths and uncover all the treasures that it held within!
***
Paradise Earth's Will continued contemplating even as Fang Yuan had left.
'Fang Yuan has advanced fast, but still within expectations... things will get interesting soon...' Paradise Earth thought.
Both he and Genesis Lotus had ulterior motives for helping Fang Yuan. Genesis Lotus for developments on the Human Path.
As for Paradise Earth, he was more interested in the Heaven Path.
Although he had spoken to Fang Yuan at length regarding Heaven's Will, there were several things that he had purposefully left out. Some of them Fang Yuan would learn on his own as time went on. Others were secrets that only he thought he had delved into. Such as his own true goal - it was to find a way to crystallize Heaven's Will.
In other words, to refine Rank 10 Heaven's Will Gu!