Fang Yuan inspected his newly formed immortal apertures, made a few minor adjustments, and added several things, though nothing particularly significant, before turning his thoughts toward his gains and losses.
"Overall, my gains far outweigh my losses. However, at the same time, I left behind clues for Heaven's Will, which will make many of my actions and circumstances appear suspicious… But for the sake of such tremendous profits, taking on a little risk is no problem."
Heaven's Will participated in the immortal ascension process, granting a Gu Master natural inspiration while also controlling the calamities and tribulations, whether those within the newly formed immortal aperture or those of the immortal ascension itself.
Thus, Fang Yuan had no doubt that Heaven's Will had noticed the unusual nature of his immortal apertures. At the same time, he had taken advantage of that opportunity to refine several Immortal Gu, such as Winter Coat Immortal Gu, Summer Fan Immortal Gu, Spring Scissors Immortal Gu of time path, as well as Bitter Strength Immortal Gu and Self-Reliance Immortal Gu.
That amounted to five Immortal Gu!
Without question, Fang Yuan's immortal ascension had been filled with troublesome and irritating points from Heaven's Will's perspective. If it had been up to Heaven's Will, it would have eliminated Fang Yuan immediately and searched for another pawn.
"But the situation is no longer under Heaven's Will's control. Even if there are several suspicious points surrounding me, it has no choice but to rely on me and overlook them in order to deal with Spectral Soul Demon Venerable and his heaven-defying plan…"
Fang Yuan was extremely confident in this conclusion. With the intuition of a great grandmaster in both wisdom path and heaven path, it was not difficult for him to deduce how Heaven's Will would operate under the overwhelming pressure exerted by Spectral Soul.
Furthermore, Heaven's Will still possessed another pawn—Tai Bai Yun Sheng.
If sacrificing one pawn could temporarily restrain Fang Yuan's actions, Heaven's Will would do so without the slightest hesitation.
Fang Yuan had naturally realized this as well. That was why he had no intention of killing Tai Bai Yun Sheng and refining the Immortal Gu himself, so as not to cross Heaven's Will's bottom line.
Competing against the heavens without leaving behind any flaws was truly exhausting, especially with ten venerables lurking behind the scenes, plotting and scheming against this struggling pawn.
Yet unbeknownst to them, that very pawn was quietly carving out his own path behind their backs, leaving behind only traces that were almost impossible to notice.
Fang Yuan let out a long breath before calling out, "Land Spirit, where are you?"
He was dressed in an ordinary black robe, his long hair flowing freely behind his back. The robe was fastened neatly by a belt around his waist, giving him a refined appearance. He was not particularly handsome, but his abyss-like black eyes gave him an unmistakably extraordinary presence.
"Master, I'm here!"
Little Hu Immortal's cheerful voice rang in Fang Yuan's ears, and at the same time, she appeared before him, happily floating around him.
Fang Yuan reached out and gently patted her head before ruffling her hair.
"Is Old Bai here? What is he doing?"
"Master, your senior brother, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, has been touring the blessed land, inspecting and restoring the resource points just as you instructed him. He's learning many new things about the blessed land."
Little Hu Immortal answered as she floated aside, displaying an image of Tai Bai Yun Sheng using Landscape as Before Immortal Gu.
Fang Yuan did not hesitate to put Tai Bai Yun Sheng to work. The latter was eager to repay the "debt" he believed he owed Fang Yuan for saving his life.
Since that time, Fang Yuan had barely spoken with him. He had been occupied with resolving matters concerning Immortal Crane Sect and managing the blessed land more efficiently.
At the same time, he needed to adapt to the temporary conflict between his Dao marks before turning his attention to anything else.
"Land Spirit, let's go meet Old Bai."
Fang Yuan rose to his feet and activated the immortal killer move Familiar Face. His appearance transformed into that of a six-meter-tall Heavenly Zombie.
He then left Dang Hun Mountain Palace together with the land spirit. Several minutes later, they arrived at a resource point where Tai Bai Yun Sheng was using Landscape as Before Immortal Gu.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was an elderly man, yet he wore an energetic expression as he managed the resource point. Most of his attention was focused on Yellow Treasure Heaven, and he barely noticed Fang Yuan's arrival.
"Younger Brother?… Ah!"
The moment Tai Bai Yun Sheng realized Fang Yuan had arrived, he was stunned by his appearance.
However, he quickly composed himself and spoke in a weak, sorrowful voice.
"Younger Brother, you saved my life, yet you ended up like this because of me… Have you contacted Master? Perhaps he has a solution to your problem?"
Fang Yuan sneered.
"How could Master solve my own problems? I failed my mission, and now you expect me to run to him and ask him to clean up my mess? Besides, Master only left me with a single Gu worm to contact him, and it can only be used three times."
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was overwhelmed with guilt and was about to speak, but Fang Yuan interrupted him.
"Old Bai, if you truly believe you're responsible for all of this, then repay your debt to me!"
Hope flickered across Tai Bai Yun Sheng's face, and he could not help but ask,
"Just tell me what you need. I harmed my Junior Brother, and now, even if you demanded my life as repayment for your kindness, I would not hesitate!"
Fang Yuan let out an icy laugh that sent chills down one's spine.
"Death? Who's talking about death, Old Bai? Actually, there is one matter that's been bothering me, and you're the only one who can resolve it."
"Really? What is it?"
"Well… Master accepted me as his disciple before you. He only acknowledged you after we met in Imperial Court Blessed Land. Just because you became a Gu Immortal slightly earlier than I did doesn't mean I have to address you as Senior Brother!"
Fang Yuan's tone was serious and sincere, and even his fierce expression carried unwavering determination.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng could scarcely believe what he had just heard. Then he burst into hearty laughter, tears streaming down his face.
"Younger Brother, seniority isn't something that can be changed so easily… Ask for something else!"
At that moment, Tai Bai Yun Sheng felt a warmth he had not experienced in a long time. It was as though he had wandered through a foreign land for seventy years before finally finding a place where he truly belonged, as well as a purpose worth pursuing.