Three figures sat around the table, waiting for the tea to finish brewing. They were Fairy Li Shan, Hei Lou Lan, and Tai Bai Yun Sheng.
Meanwhile, Fang Yuan stood by the window, gazing at the snowy world outside before turning his attention to Fairy Li Shan as she spoke about her relationship with Hei Lou Lan.
Fairy Li Shan looked at Hei Lou Lan affectionately and said, "The relationship between Little Lan and me has always been a secret, to the point that outsiders don't even know we know each other. Today, she has revealed this secret of hers. It's obvious that she sincerely wishes to cooperate with the two of you… especially you, Fang Yuan. Little Lan has mentioned you several times over the past few days. You accomplished such an astonishing feat—you even brought down Eighty-Eight True Yang Building."
Fang Yuan laughed heartily and replied in the hoarse voice unique to his zombie body, "Fairy Li Shan, you flatter me. Truthfully, I had hoped to find an ally amidst this chaos, and it seems my choice was the right one after all. This is the perfect opportunity, Fairy. With your Mountain Pledge Immortal Gu, our alliance can become as steadfast and unshakable as the very mountain beneath our feet!"
Fairy Li Shan looked deeply at Fang Yuan before smiling.
"Please, have a seat. The tea has finished brewing."
Fang Yuan politely declined.
"The tea will still be hot after we've formed our alliance."
"Fellow Fang is truly decisive and practical."
Fairy Li Shan praised him before summoning an Immortal Gu.
The Immortal Gu resembled a beetle. It was thick and sturdy, even larger than an adult man's palm. Its body was gray with the texture of stone. A pair of enormous mandibles protruded from its head. Its back lacked any luster and instead resembled a mountain range, while patches resembling moss covered the joints of its legs.
Fairy Li Shan explained, "This is a rank six Information Path Immortal Gu, as famous as Sea Oath Gu. As long as you choose a mountain as your pledge, and that mountain continues to exist, the oath can never be broken. Fellow Fang, which mountain do you wish to choose?"
Fang Yuan raised his hand and pointed outside before laughing roughly.
"Is there any mountain more suitable than the one we're standing on?"
Tai Bai Yun Sheng looked confused.
"What mountain is this?"
Hei Lou Lan answered indifferently.
"Snowy Mountain… Snowy Mountain Blessed Land, the headquarters of the demonic path Gu Immortals of Northern Plains."
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was completely dumbfounded, while Hei Lou Lan merely sneered at him.
Fang Yuan stepped in with a clear explanation.
"Old Bai, you've only recently become a Gu Immortal, so your knowledge is still lacking. Fairy Li Shan is the master of the Third Peak of Snowy Mountain Blessed Land. You can also address her as the Third Peak Lord."
"The Third Peak Lord…"
Tai Bai Yun Sheng stared at Fairy Li Shan with wide eyes.
He had never imagined that this gentle and elegant woman was actually a demonic path Gu Immortal, let alone the Third Peak Lord of the greatest demonic stronghold in Northern Plains!
Fang Yuan broke the silence.
"Fairy Li Shan, I wonder whether you'd be interested in investing in my business? Hei Lou Lan already agreed to do so."
Fairy Li Shan frowned slightly.
She had not expected Fang Yuan's financial situation to be poor enough for him to seek funding just to establish a source of income.
"I suppose I overestimated the gains he obtained from Imperial Court Blessed Land. After all, he's only an immortal zombie and can't even accumulate immortal essence… But didn't Little Lan mention that his blessed land was being managed exceptionally well?"
"Of course. Since Little Lan has already promised you, I'll invest. However, the amount depends on the nature of the business."
Fang Yuan laughed.
"I'm confident that the Guts Gu business will interest you. It's rare for someone to possess a monopoly capable of controlling both production and prices at will."
Fairy Li Shan's frown immediately turned into a broad smile, while Hei Lou Lan was visibly shocked.
"It seems you're interested, Fairy. In that case, how about this? I'll be responsible for production and distribution, while you provide the souls required for Guts Gu. In return, you'll receive twenty percent of the profits."
Fairy Li Shan thought for a moment before agreeing, while Hei Lou Lan accepted immediately.
However, Fang Yuan looked at Hei Lou Lan and shook his head.
"You're not a Gu Immortal yet. You can't provide the required quantity of souls."
Hei Lou Lan frowned and was about to argue, but Fairy Li Shan spoke in her place.
"Little Fang, Little Lan will become a Gu Immortal very soon, so there's no issue including her now. As for the required souls, I'll supply them until she advances to Gu Immortal. In return, the two of us will receive thirty percent of the profits. How does that sound?"
Fang Yuan pretended to consider it for a while before replying,
"No problem. However, once she becomes a Gu Immortal, she'll have to begin contributing."
Fairy Li Shan was satisfied with the arrangement, while Hei Lou Lan remained dissatisfied.
Fang Yuan paid neither of them any attention. After concluding the alliance, he departed together with Tai Bai Yun Sheng and returned to Hu Immortal Blessed Land.
After returning, Fang Yuan suggested that Tai Bai Yun Sheng travel to Eastern Sea and establish a foundation there using Landscape as Before Immortal Gu, just as he had done previously.
At the same time, as Fang Yuan had expected, Immortal Crane Sect finally responded.
Their reply was arrogant to the extreme, filled with threats before subtly inquiring about the method of transporting Guts Gu and the price they would have to pay.
Fang Yuan laughed inwardly as he held the letter.
He immediately recorded an equally "harsh" response and sent it back to Immortal Crane Sect.
Included in his reply was the transportation method using Airsac Gu, which Fang Yuan had further improved.
Now, Airsac Gu had advanced to rank four and was capable of carrying ten Guts Gu at once.
Furthermore, the materials required to refine it were extremely cheap.
Combined with Human Path Gu worms such as Pill Refinement Gu, which shared Fang Yuan's refinement path attainment, failure in refining mortal Gu had become almost impossible.
However, now that he had acquired even greater wealth through Lang Ya Blessed Land and Hu Immortal Blessed Land, he needed to devote more effort toward developing Hu Immortal Blessed Land and maximizing its productivity.
Hu Immortal Blessed Land currently resembled a starving man who had suddenly eaten far more rich food than his body could handle, leaving him suffering from severe indigestion.
After plundering most of Imperial Court Blessed Land, nearly all of its miniature, small, and medium-sized resource points had been relocated into Hu Immortal Blessed Land.
Although many of them had already been sold, the blessed land's warehouses were still overflowing with resources, whether immortal materials or mortal ones.
Fang Yuan had spent a great deal of time resolving the resulting problems.
Even after doing so, production remained inefficient.
Fortunately, this issue was largely solved through immortal formations.
With the Human Path clones managing the blessed land on Fang Yuan's behalf, everything was proceeding smoothly. However, without new instructions from Fang Yuan, the Human Path clones would never alter their methods.
After all, they were merely Gu worms, not real humans capable of independent thought.
"I need to build something similar to the Floating Refinement Cells in the center of Hu Immortal Blessed Land. I'll also have to redesign the immortal formations from scratch, and the immortal formation surrounding Dang Hun Mountain needs further adjustments as well."
The Guts Gu business appeared simple.
Place souls into Dang Hun Mountain, let the mountain crush them, and Guts Gu would be produced.
But this method was far too crude and primitive.
It failed to utilize the souls to their fullest potential.
Therefore, Fang Yuan needed to carry out numerous improvements to push Guts Gu production to its optimal state.
After all, he also needed to cultivate his own soul and would never be satisfied with producing only a small quantity of Guts Gu.
"Things keep piling up, and new problems appear one after another… But that's a good sign. It means I'm making progress."
Fang Yuan felt a trace of excitement as he sensed his strength and foundation steadily growing.