199 RI

Fang Yuan took the list and skimmed through it, the list was filled with various kinds of Gu materials, most of them were naturally mortal Gu materials, but there were a few immortal materials as well.

Fang Yuan was well aware that if he had handed the frost jades, the frost jade essences and so on, the reward would not just be this.

Wu Yong and Wu Fa were actually acting now, they were not scheming against Fang Yuan, but giving Fang Yuan a way to resolve this issue peacefully.

Fang Yuan had plundered Frosty Peak, although it did not cross the bottom line, Wu clan would rather have an intact Frosty Peak.

Fang Yuan, however, seemed to not know this and was silent for a while before he replied: "I wonder if I can exchange these rewards for a mortal Gu material, dragon scale soil?"

Wu Yong was slightly stumped, and looked at Wu Fa.

The latter thought briefly and nodded.

Returning to his home, Fang Yuan continued to cultivate.

This time, he had obtained a lot of frost jades and frost jade essence, Fang Yuan might even be able to build a Mini Frosty Peak in Mini Southern Border within his sovereign immortal aperture.

But this was not the important point.

The important point was the dragon scale soil.

This special type of soil was only an ordinary Gu material, grainy and tough. If a layer of dragon scale soil was viewed from afar, it would resemble overlapping dragon scales.

Dragon scale soil was the soil that dragon type desolate beasts, ancient desolate dragons, or even immemorial desolate dragons lived on, thus it had the aura of dragons.

Fang Yuan had purchased this soil before, because this soil gave his dragonfish greater impulse to propagate.

Right now, he did not take the other rewards, instead exchanging them for this Gu material because he had the same idea.

"The rate of time in the sovereign immortal aperture has slowed down by many times, this has led to a huge decrease in the production of resources."

"I don't have enough immortal essence reserves currently, the same goes for immortal essence stones, but the pressure in this aspect can be relieved if I expand the scale of my resource production."

After Fang Yuan thought over it, he set dragonfish as the first resource point to be expanded.

Desolate beast dragonfish as well as ordinary dragonfish were always traded in huge numbers in treasure yellow heaven.

Dragonfish seemed to be a product of food path, they could be used as supplementary ingredients to feed many Gu worms.

Not every Gu Immortal possessed Immortal Gu.

But every super force would purchase large numbers of dragonfish at set intervals of time.

The dragonfish trade was one of the largest markets in treasure yellow heaven.

During the following period of time, Fang Yuan would mainly concentrate on creating a sea area.

Currently, Mini Eastern Sea of the sovereign immortal aperture was no longer filled with shallow pools and lakes like before. Because Fang Yuan had annexed large numbers of water path immortal apertures, Mini Eastern Sea was filled with raging waves, although the water level was not deep, it was a boundless aquatic expanse.

There were almost no islands, and sea areas themselves were indistinguishable.

Fang Yuan's plan was to construct a dragon scale sea area.

A man-made sea area!

This was not Fang Yuan's innovation or creation. In fact, there were many Gu Immortals in Eastern Sea's Gu Immortal world creating man-made sea areas.

On the current ranking list for Eastern Sea's Gu Immortal world, many famous sea areas were man-made, built step by step.

Of course, the naturally formed sea areas still held most of the positions in the ranking.

Constructing a sea area artificially was not easy.

Fang Yuan spent a large amount of time and energy to lay out the dragon scale soil, then he constructed a mortal Gu formation in that area and used the Gu formation's power to isolate this sea area and make it a special sea area.

Then, he led his dragonfish group to this sea area.

The dragonfish group was indeed more satisfied in this sea area, and there was a lot more mating.

However, this was not enough.

Next, Fang Yuan started to prepared an immortal killer move — Bountiful Year!

This immortal killer move came from Hei Fan's true inheritance, but as a matter of fact, Hei Fan did not create it, he had traded for it with a Gu Immortal great expert named Pill Immortal.

He created this immortal killer move, and Hei Fan had exchanged for it with other resources.

This was a quite rare killer move, as it was an immortal killer move that was specially used to manage the immortal aperture and did not have any offensive ability.

But its practicality was extremely high, even Hei Fan had left words of praise towards this immortal killer move in his true inheritance.

Gu worms rose one after the other, a mysterious aura swelled up and gradually thickened.

The bountiful year Fang Yuan was using right now had gone through some modifications.

The original bountiful year's core Immortal Gu was year Gu, with tens of thousands of supplementary Gu worms. But now, Fang Yuan had obtained a rank seven Immortal Gu – Perseverance, and he ingeniously added perseverance Immortal Gu into the killer move as the first supplementary Gu worm.

More than ten days later, bountiful year was fully activated.

A mysterious power spread throughout the whole dragon scale sea area, but its effects would take some time to be seen.

"Even Hei Fan required two to three days of time to activate the original bountiful year. This is already quite long. After I modified it by adding in perseverance Immortal Gu,the time required has become even longer, approaching half a month. Fortunately, the activation succeeded and there was no backlash."

Fang Yuan constantly reflected on his experiences.

"My time path attainment level is still ordinary, I was barely able to add in perseverance Immortal Gu. This is the main reason for the enormous extension of time."

The shorter the activation of an immortal killer move, the simpler the process, the higher the probability of the killer move's successful activation. And, as far as Gu Immortals were concerned, it was safer.

However, Fang Yuan's action had more advantages than disadvantages.

With perseverance Immortal Gu's support, the duration of bountiful year's effect had doubled!

The original bountiful year could only influence the immortal aperture for a year. But now, a single activation from Fang Yuan could last for two years. This had also covertly saved Fang Yuan a portion of red date immortal essence.

"There is still plenty of room for improvement in bountiful year. Adding in perseverance Immortal Gu along with day Immortal Gu could raise bountiful year's effect. But, with my current attainment level in time path, I have reached my limit. Forget it!"

The matter was settled, this construction was Fang Yuan's first big project.

Right now, in Mini Eastern Sea, the first special sea area — dragon scale sea area, had completely formed.

Large numbers of dragonfish lived here, and there were one or two extremely conspicuous desolate beast dragonfish among the dragonfish group.

Bountiful year's effect did not just cover the dragon scale sea area, it also included a vast range of this sea area's surroundings.

According to what was written in Hei Fan's true inheritance: The expenditure of immortal essence to activate bountiful year was huge, but for the next year, starting right from the moment of successful activation of the killer move, all of the resources inside the immortal aperture would be produced at a higher rate!

However, the result was not like this.

Fang Yuan's bountiful year's effect only covered a portion of Mini Eastern Sea.

On one hand, this was because Fang Yuan had added perseverance Immortal Gu, which reduced the effective range of the killer move. On the other hand, the sovereign immortal aperture was simply too vast, wanting bountiful year to cover the whole sovereign immortal aperture was no different to a fairy tale.

From dragon scale lake to dragon scale sea, this was an enormous leap, and its significant was profound.

But after this project, Fang Yuan's immortal essence stones and immortal essence reserves were almost dried up.

To be safe, Fang Yuan began to sell all the unnecessary resources in his possession.

Like the frost jades and frost jade essences he had plundered in Frosty Peak, as well as large numbers of ice path mortal Gu.

Where there are gains, there are losses. His current management focus was on dragonfish.

After selling some resources, Fang Yuan gritted his teeth, he used a portion of the gains to buy many dragonfish from treasure yellow heaven.

He placed these dragonfish in dragon scale sea area.

One could say he was staking a lot on this project.

No doubt, this had some risks. But if he went at it safely, the efficiency would be lower. Moreover, he was in a safe and stable environment right now, so Fang Yuan chose to be slightly aggressive and took bigger steps.

But like this, because his immortal essence reserves had become scarce, Fang Yuan appeared to have his hands tied, not being able to casually cultivate, comprehend, train any immortal killer moves and so on.

Days seemed to pass with difficulty.

After half a month, the first batch of dragonfish was sold, the situation began to turn for the better.

After over a month, Fang Yuan sold the second batch of dragonfish directly to Wu clan!

"Who could have thought you would be so proficient in managing dragonfish!" Even Wu Yong was slightly surprised.

Wu clan did transactions of dragonfish to begin with, but previously, they had to buy from outside, now, they could be considered internal sales.

Besides Wu clan, there were also Qiao clan and some other super forces which had close relations with Wu clan.

Fang Yuan's third batch of dragonfish was sold.

Because of his identity as Wu Yi Hai and the low price, Fang Yuan's dragonfish smoothly entered the market of Southern Border's Gu Immortal world.

After the third batch of dragonfish was sold, Fang Yuan's situation had turned a lot better, his immortal essence reserves were expanding bit by bit. Fang Yuan was out of his financial predicament, and started to continue his cultivation with a brand new stance.

-x-X-x-

Southern Border, Wu clan.

In a secret cultivation room, Fang Yuan was floating in the air, his expression solemn.

His long hair was fluttering in the air, and all kinds of Gu worm auras rose from his body, mixing with each other.

"The crucial step..." Fang Yuan mumbled, his gaze turning sharp.

He carefully activated a mortal Gu.

This was a metal path mortal Gu and was only rank one.

Activating just this Gu alone naturally had no risks. But the situation now was different.

Bam.

A muffled sound spread from Fang Yuan's body.

Fang Yuan's body shook violently like he had been electrocuted, his expression was pale and a trace of blood flowed out from the corners of his lips.

"I failed again." He heaved a long sigh.

He landed on the ground and held his chest while checking his injuries.

"Fortunately, I only used a rank one mortal Gu, these injuries are not much of a problem and there is no need to use Man as Before. I will recover in a couple of days with the sovereign immortal body's recovery speed."

Fang Yuan was attempting to further improve the killer move vajra shell.

Immortal killer move vajra shell used rank six Vajra Thought as a core. Fang Yuan had relied on this killer move and strategy to defeat Xia clan's Gu Immortal, Xia Fei Kuai.

After the matter, Fang Yuan had felt this killer move was still not satisfying enough and still had room for improvement.

Fang Yuan paid attention to this feeling.

He knew his wisdom path and transformation path were both at grandmaster level, such a feeling did not emerge from nowhere and had great value to him.

"Unfortunately, although I have made some progress over these days, there have been little to no results. It seems my attainment level is still not enough, I can only let it be for now."

Fang Yuan let out a sigh.

In fact, his speed of progress was extremely remarkable compared to other Gu Immortals.

In the past, Vicious Lightning Fiend had used up several years to deduce the immortal killer move lightning deity. He was not even at ten percent of Fang Yuan's current speed.

However, it was also a wise choice for Fang Yuan to give up.

Because he had a way to rapidly raise his attainment, as long as he raised his attainment levels, he could improve the killer move vajra shell at once.

After Fang Yuan's transactions of dragonfish, his financial condition had improved, and as such, he had spare energy to try modifying immortal killer moves.

Deducing an immortal killer move was actually very resource consuming. For instance, if the attempt failed, Gu Immortal could suffer backlash and be injured. Gu worms would also be destroyed and would need to be replenished. And if Immortal Gu were damaged, that would be even more troublesome.

But if the attainment level was enough, the killer move could be improved at once, saving large amounts of time, effort and resources.

Fang Yuan's attainment level barely met the requirements of improving vajra shell, although he could improve it, he would have to pay quite a heavy price.

He thought it over and resolutely gave up on this small project.

After resting for a while, Fang Yuan activated his Gu worms and sent his divine sense into treasure yellow heaven.

Inside treasure yellow heaven, his divine sense moved nimbly and reached a Gu Immortal's will to converse.

"I will pay one thousand three hundred immortal essence stones for all your divine deer fruits." Fang Yuan spoke.

This Gu Immortal will's shook its head and said helplessly: "The price I quoted is already low. You have already come here three times, if you really want to buy, add two hundred immortal essence stones and you can take them away."

Divine deer fruits were rank six immortal material.

It was not a rare Gu material, but there were few people who sold it because there was not much demand for it.

Fang Yuan, however, needed it to feed vajra thought Immortal Gu.

He had obtained vajra thought Immortal Gu and had to solve its feeding problem.

Fang Yuan did not reply, instead, he sized up the products.

The divine deer fruits in this stall were of good quality, Fang Yuan had strolled several times around treasure yellow heaven and had found the divine deer fruits here were of top quality.

The price was also quite reasonable.

Thus, he had visited this stall several times.

Divine deer fruits were about the size of a baby's fist and did not grow on trees or plants, instead growing on the antlers of a type of deer desolate beast, fruit deer.

It was a deer that bore fruit.

Fang Yuan had already inquired about the specific name of this desolate beast, and also saw them being sold in treasure yellow heaven.

However, even if he bought a batch of them, the number of divine deer fruits they could produce was a question that needed to be explored.

Any resource had its own cultivation methods.

For instance, Fang Yuan's dragonfish production was not a result of casual attempts, but was from the insights and experiences of Dong Fang tribe.

This was the accumulation of a super tribe. As a result, Fang Yuan's dragonfish were of the best quality, and the production was also smooth, giving higher profits while requiring slightly lower capital.

"I should just buy a portion of divine deer fruits for now to deal with the first feeding of vajra thought Immortal Gu."

"When I have sufficient funds in the future, I can consider how to raise fruit deers and be able to be self-sufficiently provide for vajra thought Immortal Gu."

"As for whether I can turn this divine deer fruit's production into another source of income, that would depend on future opportunities."

Fang Yuan pondered while communicating with that Gu Immortal will: "Then, let me check again."

But at this time, the Gu Immortal will in front of Fang Yuan suddenly shook and spoke: "My main body's divine sense has entered, he says he can discuss the price with you. You should talk it out between yourselves."

Saying this, the Gu Immortal's will took a back seat.

Fang Yuan was overjoyed.

He was waiting for this situation.

The Gu Immortal who was selling the divine deer fruits had left the divine deer fruits in treasure yellow heaven and also left a will to look after them.

But although this will could think and communicate, it had to strictly abide by the bottom-line price set by its main body, and this was not negotiable.

But now that the Gu Immortal's divine sense had come over, Fang Yuan could properly communicate with him about many things.

There were many contents up for discussion.

"I want the divine deer fruits to feed Immortal Gu."

"If we can reach a consensus, this absolutely won't be the last transaction."

"How about it? I will offer one thousand three hundred immortal essence stones."

Fang Yuan started to negotiate.

The Gu Immortal hesitated: "This is our first interaction, how can I believe you based on just empty promises? Hehehe, forget it, we can reach a deal for one thousand four hundred immortal essence stones."

"Once we have transacted three times like this, the price can be lowered to one thousand three hundred. What do you think?"

Clearly, this Gu Immortal was not foolish and was quite astute.

Fang Yuan refused: "If I had ample funds, I would not be haggling with you like this. How about one thousand three hundred and fifty?"

That Gu Immortal forced a smile: "Alright. If not for my urgent need for funds and the fact that these divine deer fruits are selling slowly, I would not have agreed to your price."

One gave the money and the other handed the goods.

Fang Yuan let out a sigh of relief after the transaction was completed. The feeding problem of vajra thought Immortal Gu was settled for the moment.

Now, it was divination tortoise shell Immortal Gu's turn.

This Immortal Gu fed on kelp.

Naturally, it was not common kelp, but ancient ink kelp, which was a rank six immortal material.

This kelp was complete black like ink, and when its skin was torn, it would dye the surrounding water into pitch-black ink.

Fang Yuan was currently short on funds, so he intended to purchase and store some ancient ink kelps to feed divination tortoise shell Immortal Gu.

He would consider more in the future.

In the aspect of food, day Immortal Gu was much more pleasant. Because it fed on the water of the River of Time, there was no need to think about obtaining its food.

In comparison to divine deer fruits, there were many more sellers of ancient ink kelps in treasure yellow heaven.

But Fang Yuan was not able to make a deal with any of them.

The issue was the price.

But he was not in a hurry, there was still some time left before the next feeding of divination tortoise shell Immortal Gu.

"Fortunately, dragon scale sea area's construction is finished, as long as it continues to develop like this, I will have plenty of funds in the future."

"Next is the construction of coiling thread caves to produce regretful spiders on a large scale."

Fang Yuan had considered it, the market for regretful spiders was huge, especially over in Western Desert. Although the demand was not as large as dragonfish, it was still a lot.

But for the moment, Fang Yuan was tight on funds and needed some time to accumulate his wealth before he could start this project.

"According to this situation, I estimate that it will be over a month before I am able to gather the first sum of funds and start on the construction of coiling thread caves."

"Hopefully, Wu clan would have stabilized by then and would let me return to the giant dream realm."

Wu Yi Hai's identity restricted Fang Yuan's freedom. Especially under the current situation of Wu clan, it was not good for him to voice out his intention.

Over the course of this month, Wu Yong had led Wu clan to deal with the problems created by the various super forces. There were losses and gains, Wu clan's prestige sank, but in truth, there was not much damage to their benefits.

Thus, this situation was still continuing.

Wu Yong wanted to regain their reputation, while other super forces were not satisfied and wanted to seize some material benefits.

The confrontation between righteous path forces was different from the demonic path.

Confrontations in the demonic path were fierce and violent, while righteous path confrontations were light like drizzle and often lasted for a long time. Especially when it was a confrontation between super forces with huge assets, it was difficult for them to fight against each other without reservations, they would not fight to the death.

Fang Yuan's idle cultivation lifestyle did not last for long.

Some days later, he received another task from Wu Yong.

"Mount Snail? Mountain Moving Old Monster?"

Fang Yuan's brows slowly started to furrow.

It was not that he did not have the confidence to complete this task, but the current trend of situations was not looking good.

Previously, though Fang Yuan had resolved Frosty Peak's matter, he had in fact withheld his strength and methods, obtaining a barely passable result. He had only created an agreement of five years and had plundered the resources of Frosty Peak.

Although this was an unwritten rule of the righteous path, he had touched the bottom-line.

This was naturally Fang Yuan's intent, to leave a bad impression on Wu Yong. Higher-ups did not like using such people, and if they sent Fang Yuan away to the super Gu formation earlier, it would match Fang Yuan's wish.

But Wu clan was indeed short on manpower at present, while its territory was too large. A matter concerning Mount Snail had happened suddenly, Wu Yong had no choice but to use Fang Yuan to deal with this problem.

-x-X-x-

Southern Border.

Light rain was drizzling on a range of verdant mountains.

Fang Yuan wore a blue robe, and was gazing at these grand rivers and mountains from atop a rock, before his gaze finally settled on a mountain.

This mountain was rather special.

The mountain peaks beside it were either tall or short, steep or slanted.

But this mountain was round in shape.

This was Mount Snail.

Or it could be considered a snail mountain.

It was an immemorial desolate beast! It was an enormous river snail with a tall, tower-like spiral shell drenched with green moss.

When it stayed still, its body would hide in the shell, looking like a towering mountain.

Right now, it was awake and was slowly moving.

Rumble...

As it moved, all the surroundings quaked slightly, birds and beasts fled in disorder.

Fang Yuan was calmly looking at the movement of this immemorial desolate beast, Mount Snail, from another mountain peak.

Its speed was slow.

Mount Snail might be an immemorial desolate beast, but its temperament was simple and mild, it was hard to anger it, it could even be said to be harmless.

Not only harmless, it also provided benefits.

Because Mount Snail's body was full of enslavement path and earth path dao marks, which created a special environment around it that would spawn many enslavement path and earth path resources.

Mount Snail's ownership had all the while been an unsettled issue.

Few Gu Immortals could control Mount Snail, it was very difficult for even rank eight enslavement path Gu Immortals.

Because Mount Snail itself was full of enslavement path dao marks.

There were already seven known Mount Snails in Southern Border. Long ago, Southern Border's super forces had set an agreement: As long as these Mount Snails were not controlled by anyone, that is to say, they were wild Mount Snails, they would be considered as a resource of the clan whose territory it was staying in.

This Mount Snail was originally living in Wu clan's territory, naturally it belonged to Wu clan.

There was no doubt about this.

But now, it was time for the Mount Snail's migration, it was currently leaving Wu clan's territory for other territories.

Mount Snail's original location was at the periphery of Wu clan's territory.

In fact, during Wu Du Xiu's time, Wu clan had intentionally expanded their territory to include this Mount Snail.

Currently, Mount Snail was leaving Wu clan's territory, but the place it was going to did not have other righteous path super forces.

This also meant this Mount Snail was going to become wild again.

Wu Yong naturally did not want to see such a situation happening, and under the situation where he did not have enough manpower, without other options, he could only assign this task to his younger brother, Wu Yi Hai.

"Wu Yi Hai? I am Qin Jin Sheng, I am also called Mountain Moving Old Monster." A Gu Immortal flew over from another mountain peak.

Fang Yuan gazed at the Gu Immortal.

This old Gu Immortal was adorned in a suit of rocky grey armor, his hair was a mix of black and white, looking messy like straws. He looked slovenly, with the corners of his clothes being in shreds.

But the rank seven aura he gave out was majestic and forceful, especially his eyes which shone with sharp light. Right now, as he looked at Fang Yuan, it was like a senior sizing up a junior.

"It is me indeed, Wu Yi Hai, I greet Senior Mountain Moving." Fang Yuan bowed slightly, his greeting had the style of the righteous path.

This Mountain Moving Old Monster's title had 'old' in it, it naturally was because he was an old veteran, an old senior, having lived for over two thousand years.

He had lifespan Gu and also had unique lifespan extension methods.

His battle strength was also very high and he was a famous expert among lone immortals, almost at the level of Old Treeman Ba De and Wu clan's Wu Yu Bo.

Rank seven Gu Immortals like Xia Fei Kuai could not compare to Mountain Moving Old Monster.

Thus, when Mountain Moving Old Monster sized up Fang Yuan, he was not humble and treated himself as a senior, even if Fang Yuan came from Wu clan.

"Hehehe, considering the time, it was time your Wu clan sent someone as well. Let's sit and talk." Mountain Moving Old Monster laughed and sat on a rock.

Fang Yuan smiled and also sat down.

Mountain Moving Old Monster saw that Fang Yuan had no objection to sitting on a rock and also did not have a high-and-mighty attitude, his impression of Fang Yuan improved: "I almost forgot you were a lone cultivator, although you have joined Wu clan, you don't have the hypocritical attitude of those righteous path members."

Fang Yuan slightly shook his head: "The righteous path has to act like the righteous path, as for me, I spent most of my time as a secluded cultivator in Eastern Sea, these habits cannot be changed."

"Hahaha." Mountain Moving Old Monster laughed heartily, "I hear you chased away the two Gu Immortals from Xia clan, but plundered the resources of Frosty Peak."

Fang Yuan revealed a surprised expression: "Senior, these are groundless rumors, I have never stated that."

Mountain Moving Old Monster laughed loudly, before heaving a deep sigh: "The righteous path Gu Immortals can't understand you, but I understand. How difficult is it for us lone cultivators to become an immortal? We have to earn every cultivation resource with our own hands. There won't be future opportunities, so we need to grasp the present benefits with all our strength. Who knows what will happen in the future?"

"As for those righteous path Gu Immortals, even if they stay in their homes, plenty of resources are provided to them. How could they understand the pain and difficulties we lone cultivators face?"

Fang Yuan's expression was calm, he did not praise nor did he retort.

He knew that Mountain Moving Old Monster's words were absolutely not just to get close to him, but to express his resolve — he, Mountain Moving Old Monster, was a lone cultivator, and the present benefit in front of him was this Mount Snail. His resolve could not be shaken, and the former lone cultivator, Wu Yi Hai, should be aware of it.

"I am clear of your intention, senior, but I still have to ask you to have some understanding, I have my own difficulties in coming here." Fang Yuan spoke.

Mountain Moving Old Monster snickered: "Everyone has their own difficulties."

With age and experience, one's words would carry deeper meaning.

Everyone has their own difficulties; not only was it replying to Fang Yuan's words, it also meant he, himself, had his own difficulties, and more importantly, it was also indicating that Wu clan was currently in a difficult situation.

Fang Yuan did not speak anymore.

Sometimes, silence was a tactic which could be used in a confrontation between words.

Sure enough, Mountain Moving Old Monster could not sit still and handed an information path mortal Gu to Fang Yuan: "Take a look at it."

The contents listed in this mortal Gu had high value. If Fang Yuan obtained them, he could directly construct coiling thread caves!

"We will cooperate, I will take Mount Snail and you will get these, what do you think?" Mountain Moving Old Monster smiled.

He was actually trying to bribe Fang Yuan!

But this was not strange.

Instead, it fell within Fang Yuan's expectations.

Mountain Moving Old Monster was a lone cultivator, and from his point of view, he naturally did not want to offend the number one righteous path super force, Wu clan. Despite Wu clan currently being in a predicament, such a colossal force was not something Mountain Moving Old Monster could threaten by himself.

More importantly, if Mountain Moving Old Monster obtained this Mount Snail, he would no longer be a person who could freely move.

Mount Snail could not be stored inside an immortal aperture, unless it was completely subdued.

Mountain Moving Old Monster was an earth path Gu Immortal, he clearly did not have such attainment. Like this, he would become the 'owner' of this Mount Snail, and would have to defend it if someone attacked it in the future.

If he offended Wu clan, Wu clan's Gu Immortals would attack in waves, how could he defend against them by himself?

Even if he could defend once, what about the second time, the third time?

Even if he was able to defend against them all, there would be losses in battle. Would Mountain Moving Old Monster still have time to cultivate if he were to be disturbed repeatedly?

As such, there was only one option in front of Mountain Moving Old Monster.

That was to negotiate with Wu clan.

Wu clan did not want to let go of this Mount Snail, but even the large Wu clan was an organization formed by its clansmen. And so long as it was an organization, it could not be an airtight fortress, there would naturally be chinks in the armor.

Wu Yi Hai's arrival gave even greater hope to Mountain Moving Old Monster.

"Senior, you want to use these to exchange for an immemorial desolate beast?" Fang Yuan held the information path mortal Gu and said with a faint smile.

"The resources inside are very valuable! This Mount Snail might be an immemorial desolate beast, but who can control it? If I become its owner, I will also only be taking the resources produced by it. Naturally, we can talk if you have any conditions." Mountain Moving Old Monster's eyes glimmered brightly, his attitude turning much warmer.

Since Fang Yuan had not directly refused, Mountain Moving Old Monster cheered inwardly and had much higher hope.

"The contents inside this list needs to be doubled at least." This was Fang Yuan's first condition.

Mountain Moving Old Monster immediately frowned.

"Mount Snail cannot be yours in name, it will still belong to Wu clan." This was Fang Yuan's second condition.

Mountain Moving Old Monster's eyes opened wide, his warm expression suddenly changing to that of anger.

"But in truth, senior, you will be this mountain's owner, the benefits will mostly go to you, but you need to hand over a portion of the resources to our Wu clan every year." This was Fang Yuan's third condition.

Mountain Moving Old Monster began to sneer, his expression had turned dark: "Wu Yi Hai, are you playing with me?"

"Of course not." Fang Yuan had a sober expression, he stood up and looked at Mountain Moving Old Monster's eyes with no fear: "Senior, may I ask three questions?"

Mountain Moving Old Monster barely restrained his anger: "Speak."

"Senior, first, you are a lone person not affiliated with any super force, how could my Wu clan leave Mount Snail in your hands? It would be alright if it were a super force, but letting a lone cultivator take benefits would negatively affect my Wu clan's prestige."

"Second, even if you can take possession of this Mount Snail for the moment, how long can you defend it? Even if my Wu clan doesn't interfere with you, what about the other super forces?"

"Third, senior, do you think that by only bribing me, the whole of Wu clan will simply watch from the sidelines?"

Mountain Moving Old Monster fell into silence.

After a long while, he sighed and spoke with a hoarse voice: "Then if we go with your idea, wouldn't I become the guard for your Wu clan's mountain?"

Fang Yuan smiled lightly: "It is just some insignificant reputation. How could everything go perfectly? The conditions I mentioned are actually not excessive, it is because I considered how I was also once a lone cultivator. The question is, do you want face or real benefits, please consider it properly."

Mountain Moving Old Monster fell into silence.

This time, the silence lasted an even longer time, only when the light drizzle gradually stopped, he spoke: "Alright, we will go according to your idea."

-x-X-x-

A few days later.

Looking at Mount Snail loudly moving away, and Mountain Moving Old Monster standing on top of it with an owner's air, Fang Yuan retracted his gaze and started to leave.

Mount Snail's matter had been settled.

With Fang Yuan as the representative, Wu clan had reached an agreement with Mountain Moving Old Monster. Mountain Moving Old Monster obtained most of the benefits of Mount Snail, but this immemorial desolate beast still belonged to Wu clan in name.

Wu Yong had assigned Fang Yuan to retain Mount Snail.

Fang Yuan had retained it, although it was only a portion, it could be considered as completing the task.

"Mountain Moving Old Monster agreed to my conditions because of Wu clan's force behind me."

"As for Wu Yong, he is currently worn out by dealing with the difficulties created by other super forces. He has no choice but to forcibly acknowledge the resolution of Mount Snail."

"Wu clan is in a grave situation at present, as Wu Yong's brother, I should not idle around outside and must return as quickly as possible."

Fang Yuan was thoroughly satisfied with the outcome of this matter.

He had an explanation to hand to Wu clan, and more importantly, he had reaped many benefits from this task.

He could already begin the construction of coiling thread caves.

Because of these resources, Fang Yuan immediately had spare funds to engage in a large scale expansion of his second major resource.

According to the previous development speed, he would have had to wait more than half a year. And in this duration, there could not be any unexpected mishaps, for instance, intense battle would consume a lot of red date immortal essence. The rate of time in Fang Yuan's sovereign immortal aperture was slowed down at present, the amount of red date immortal essence he produced was a lot less than before, and Fang Yuan needed to use immortal essence stones to turn them into red date immortal essence.

Now, his immortal essence was no longer green grape immortal essence, one hundred immortal essence stones were required to turn into one bead of red date immortal essence.

"I need to arrange the Gu formation to construct the coiling thread caves, I also need rank six immortal material dark soft silk and rank seven immortal material regret water rocks."

"With these funds, all this can be completed and it is only a matter of time."

"The important thing is, when can I return to the dream realm? Wu Yong's attitude is the crucial factor!"

Fang Yuan thought as he moved forward.

Right as he was on his way back, in the headquarters of Wu clan, two Gu Immortals were currently talking about him, Wu Yi Hai.

One was Wu clan's rank eight Gu Immortal, first supreme elder Wu Yong.

The other was Wu Yong's trusted aide, Wu Fa.

"Who could have thought my brother would resolve Mount Snail's matter so quickly? Elder Wu Fa, as per the clan rules, how should we reward him?" Wu Yong asked.

Wu Fa was silent for a moment.

He knew that Wu Yong's question was not superficial, he was asking about his attitude towards Wu Yi Hai.

He was testing Wu Fa.

Because Wu Yi Hai's identity was special, he and Wu Yong were half-siblings!

Wu Fa quickly thought and replied: "Lord Wu Yi Hai has a lone cultivator background."

One sentence.

But Wu Yong laughed heartily: "Right, your remark is correct. Yi Hai has a lone cultivator's disposition, even after returning to the clan, he has not changed and is always thinking of quickly making cash and eyeing up cheap benefits."

Wu Fa, however, did not agree: "Frosty Peak and Mount Snail are not small benefits."

Wu Yong's laughter stopped, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes as he nodded: "That is indeed not good, if everyone were to be like this, how would Wu clan continue to exist? But he did not overstep the bottom line and has not left behind any weaknesses that could be exposed."

As he said this, Wu Yong sighed and remarked: "He has some ability."

How could Wu Fa not realize Wu Yong's meaning?

Wu Yong naturally could not be pleased at seeing Fang Yuan use the situation to his advantage.

But the situation left him no choice, he was lacking manpower and sometimes had no choice but to send Wu Yi Hai to deal with some matters.

Fang Yuan had also revealed his ability by handling these two matters.

This ability had obtained Wu Yong's acknowledgement, so Wu Yong would still continue to use Fang Yuan. But when the time arrives and Wu clan's situation eases up, Fang Yuan would be cast aside by Wu Yong, to the extent that if Fang Yuan were to leave behind any evidence, Wu Yong would grasp the opportunity and deal a huge blow to Fang Yuan.

After all, no higher-up would feel comfortable with someone like Fang Yuan, who sought after personal gains.

Fang Yuan successfully returned to Wu clan.

He met with Wu Yong and described the whole matter briefly, and obtained a reward from Wu clan once again.

Fang Yuan chose to exchange for immortal essence stones.

Naturally, this sum of immortal essence stones could not compare to what he had obtained from Mountain Moving Old Monster, it was far too few.

Over the following days, Fang Yuan cultivated in peace.

The construction of the coiling thread caves was slowly progressing. This was his current focus.

Every set interval of time, Fang Yuan would have to place his immortal aperture to absorb heaven and earth qi, stabilizing the sovereign immortal aperture.

After all, Reverse Flow River was a secluded domain of heaven and earth, it was extremely taxing on the immortal aperture.

This matter was slightly troublesome.

Fang Yuan could not directly absorb heaven and earth qi, because the amount he absorbed every time was huge and the interval between them was also short.

As such, Fang Yuan had to search for some immortal materials in treasure yellow heaven, disintegrating them into heaven and earth qi to infuse into himself.

This no doubt consumed a lot of Fang Yuan's spare energy and finances, but he would rather do this carefully. This was the only way he could stick around long enough and avoid showing any flaws that could let others expose his identity.

Days passed by, Fang Yuan started to feel somewhat impatient.

"The problems on the giant dream realm's end have already settled down. But Wu Yong does not seem to show any signs of letting me return. Looks like what I was worried about happened after all. Sigh!"

Fang Yuan sighed.

In this world, people often had no choice.

Wu Yong was busy dealing with difficulties from all sides, doing everything to stabilize the situation. If he let Fang Yuan return, and a problem occurred on the super Gu formation's end, would he not be creating trouble for himself?

Moreover, Wu Yong saw Fang Yuan had some ability and wanted to continue letting him deal with some problems.

As for Fang Yuan embezzling resources while doing the tasks, Wu Yong was turning a blind eye to it for now and did not look into it.

He did not pursue it, but Fang Yuan wanted him to.

Looking at the reason Fang Yuan disguised as Wu Yi Hai and entered Wu clan, wasn't it for the dream realm?

"It seems I need to make a move."

On this day, Fang Yuan left his residence.

For the policies of higher-ups, there were countermeasures.

Fang Yuan was an old fox, how could he not have a method to respond to this?

Around twelve days later, in a pavilion on Yue Hua Mountain, several Gu Immortals were seated around a stone table.

Warm moonlight flowed down like water.

Night birds cried out in the lush green hills.

Soft wind brushed past, the view was beautiful beyond imagination.

"Today is Southern Border's yearly moon festival 1 , it is my fortune to enjoy this festival with all our honorable guests." Qiao Si Liu said with a smile.

Her voice was beautiful like the soft murmurs of mountain springs, giving a pure feeling.

Her appearance was even more beautiful, dressed in a pure white brocade dress, along with her exquisite features, it gave a feeling of a fairy from mortal tales.

"Being able to receive Fairy Si Liu's invitation to enjoy the moon festival together is my, Luo Mu Zi's, honor." A Gu Immortal with the looks of a young man spoke.

His smile was glowing with enthusiasm, particularly the gaze he had when looked at Qiao Si Liu, it was scorching hot.

Qiao Si Liu was one of the three publicly recognized top beauties in Southern Border's Gu Immortal world, what stood out even more was her background.

Qiao clan, although affiliated with Wu clan, was also a righteous path super force.

Among the six Gu Immortals present, there were two women and four men, other than the one couple, Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei were pursuers of Qiao Si Liu.

There were many pursuers of Qiao Si Liu, but being able to receive an invitation to this festival from her showed these two were not at the same level as the rest.

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei were naturally happy, they came rushing over immediately when they received Qiao Si Liu's invitation.

But at this moment, Qiao Si Liu spoke to another male Gu Immortal: "Yi Hai, you said you wanted to integrate yourself into Southern Border, tonight's moon festival is a custom of Southern Border."

"Southern Border has a lot of mountains, separated from each other, but the moon festival is a common custom. Every year, at this time, we will all appreciate the moon."

Her eyes were glistening with light, her soft voice and her smiling rosy lips created an extraordinary image.

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei immediately frowned, as they rigidly stared at Fang Yuan with eyes that could burst into flames.

Qiao Si Liu's differing attitude could be clearly seen by anyone who had eyes, moreover, the seating arrangement had already put Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei in a bad mood.

Because on the main seat was Qiao Si Liu and on her right seat was Fang Yuan, while to her left was her best friend, Fairy Tian Lu.

As for the other male Gu Immortals, their seats were arranged quite far away.

"Moon festival?" Fang Yuan's expression was indifferent, he asked even though he already knew: "Interesting, what do we do besides appreciating the moon?"

"We drink tea, recite poems, and also dissect rocks." Qiao Si Liu explained with a smile.

"Dissect rocks?" Fang Yuan looked puzzled.

Qiao Si Liu did not reply, instead she handed a cup of fragrant tea to Fang Yuan: "First, please taste my personally brewed tea."

Luo Mu Zi almost stood up at this sight!

Lun Fei's eyelids twitched violently, wishing he could be in Fang Yuan's place.

Fang Yuan took a light sip of the tea and commented: "This tea is not bad."

"Only not bad? This is Fairy Si Liu's renowned willow spiral tea!" Luo Mu Zi almost yelled.

"Is there something special that I am unaware of?" Fang Yuan looked at Qiao Si Liu.

Qiao Si Liu met Fang Yuan's gaze, before her eyes turned and she laughed softly.

Lun Fei's heart started beating faster at the fairy's charming laughter.

At this moment, Fairy Tian Lu aptly chirped: "This willow spiral tea, if you lightly shake it, a whirlpool will form on the surface of the tea in the appearance of a willow leaf. You will only get the true extraordinary taste of the tea when you drink it at that time."

"Oh? So it was like that?" Fang Yuan shook the cup in his hand, and immediately, there was a change on the surface of the tea.

He drank it then, and felt the fragrance overflow in his mouth, giving him a pleasant aftertaste and satisfaction.

"Great tea." Fang Yuan praised.

"Of course it is a great tea, Fairy Si Liu's personally brewed tea is not something just anyone can get to drink!" Luo Mu Zi sourly said.

"To be able to receive your praise, Si Liu's efforts were not wasted. You should know that you need to spend six hours to make this tea and you cannot be even the slightest bit careless during the whole process." Fairy Tian Lu said.

Lun Fei was extremely moved: "It is truly my lifetime's honor to be able to taste Fairy Si Liu's personally brewed willow spiral tea tonight!"

Fairy Tian Lu's eyebrows immediately rose: "Who said you can taste the willow spiral tea? Si Liu took out some time from her busy schedule to make this one cup."

"Ugh."

-x-X-x-

Qiao Si Liu only made one cup of willow spiral tea, which was given to Fang Yuan.

Such a brewing method immediately changed the significance of this cup of willow spiral tea.

Fang Yuan's expression slightly changed, showing flattered joy on his face, but his mind was tranquil with no ripples.

"This is truly a pity. No matter how beautiful you are, without eternal life, you will just be a pile of bones in the end."

"Beauty is superficial, but people cannot stop indulging in it."

"But this Fairy Tian Lu is indeed Qiao Si Liu's best friend, their coordination is remarkable."

The only cup of brewed tea was given to Fang Yuan by Fairy Si Liu, Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei, who were still thinking of tasting the tea, however, obtained such a reply.

Their expressions had become quite stiff at this moment.

Qiao Si Liu smiled: "The willow spiral tea was only a token of goodwill. I have brought bewitching tea for everyone, please have a taste."

She waved her silk sleeve, five servings of tea appeared on the table.

This tea was different from willow spiral tea, it was not in a cup, but in a white porcelain dish.

At the center of this dish was a fist sized dewdrop.

This dewdrop was lustrous like a jade, its surface wobbling slightly against the night wind, looking delicate.

"Bewitching tea is a renowned tea of Qiao clan, to think I could have a taste tonight." Luo Mu Zi gave himself an excuse, but in fact, his gaze was still fixed on that cup in front of Fang Yuan.

Lun Fei had already tightly clenched his fists below the table, grinding his teeth as he raised the small porcelain dish and took a sip of the bewitching tea.

"Good tea." He exclaimed, but his expression was slightly rigid.

In fact, bewitching tea was multiple grades higher than willow spiral tea, the latter was only Qiao Si Liu's creation, while the former was Qiao clan's signature tea. A super force's signature tea was naturally more outstanding than the tea created by Qiao Si Liu, a single Gu Immortal.

However, as far as Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei were concerned, they would rather give up a hundred servings of bewitching tea to drink a serving of willow spiral tea.

"Bewitching tea is really refreshing and has endless aftertaste. Si Liu, how can I take out my aurora tea when you brought out this tea?" Fairy Tian Lu smiled.

Qiao Si Liu, however, was not the slightest bit polite to this best friend of hers: "Just don't take it out then, I am already tired of drinking your aurora tea. Right now, I am anticipating Sheng Liu's drunken flowers tea. It is rumored this tea was a creation from his inspiration when he fell in love at first sight with you. I wonder if I might have the opportunity to taste it today?"

"I am ashamed, ashamed." Sheng Liu rubbed his nose, giving a bitter smile, "My drunken flowers tea is a crude creation, it is not exquisite enough for today."

Fairy Tian Lu also smiled while covering her mouth: "Si Liu, you are making things difficult for my darling Liu, this won't do! Only I can drink drunken flowers tea, outsiders can stop dreaming about it."

Her face showed pride and love as she said this.

Gu Immortal Sheng Liu who was beside her, looked lovingly at Fairy Tian Lu, they were already holding their hands below the table.

Qiao Si Liu gave a deep sigh: "Oh, I wonder when I will meet a person who will create a tea for me?"

There was a sense of dejectedness in her soft query.

At this moment, moonlight shone into the pavilion.

A beauty sighing softly under the moonlight was truly a very loveable sight.

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei felt their bodies heating up, Luo Mu Zi even stood up: "Fairy Si Liu, I have a tea which is called nine recollecting fragrances. It is my own creation, fairy, I would like to offer it to you on this auspicious occasion."

Not willing to be left behind, Lun Fei also quipped in: "I also have prepared my tea, this is yin-yang tea, there is a clear distinction between yin and yang, fairy, please have a taste."

These two Gu Immortals only offered the tea to Qiao Si Liu, just like Qiao Si Liu had given her willow spiral tea to Fang Yuan.

Qiao Si Liu took a sip of both tea, and said with a smile: "Nine recollecting fragrances is aptly named, the moment the tea enters the mouth, fragrances coil around the tongue. Tasting it carefully, there are actually nine moments when the fragrances intensify, it is really extraordinary."

"Haha, fairy, it is not worthy of such praise from you." Luo Mu Zi laughed heartily, his previous bad mood swept away completely.

Qiao Si Liu then said to Lun Fei: "Yin-yang tea, although it is not a unique creation, I have heard of it before. There are three levels to brewing this tea. First level is when yin and yang are obscure. Second layer is when yin and yang are separate. Third level is when yin contains yang, and yang contains yin, yin and yang revolving around each other. Lun Fei, your skill can be seen for being able to achieve the second level of brewing this tea, there are probably less than ten people who can achieve that in the whole of Southern Border, worthy of a food path Gu Immortal like you."

Tea, wine, delicacies, in this world, they were naturally not ordinary.

There were countless ways to brew tea. It was not as simple and shallow as putting tea leaves in hot water.

Like the tea discussed by the immortals in the pavilion: Willow spiral tea, bewitching tea, drunken flowers, nine recollecting fragrances and yin-yang tea, they were all incomplete Gu recipes.

And when these Gu recipes were completed, and the Gu Immortal brewed tea at that time, they could refine food path Gu worms.

Food path was one of the many cultivation paths, it was just that it had never flourished. Although it was extremely significant and there was a lot of interests in it, unfortunately, because of historical reasons, there were very few food path inheritances left in the world.

"This Lun Fei's main cultivation is actually food path?" Fang Yuan gave Lun Fei a quick glance, feeling slightly surprised inwardly.

"What is this guy's origin? I have many Immortal Gu, if I could obtain his food path inheritance, it might be a huge help to me." Fang Yuan immediately had malicious intent.

Even if you had no intention to harm others, they might still want to harm you.

Fang Yuan was somewhat moved.

His current strength was already among the best below rank eight. When he activated reverse flow protection seal, although his offensive methods were still weaker, he could stand toe to toe with Feng Jiu Ge.

"I need to first check Lun Fei's background and see if I can make a move against him or not."

"If I can, Wu Yi Hai's identity must not be implicated!"

With Wu Yi Hai's identity, Fang Yuan definitely could not brazenly kill Lun Fei. Because he was a righteous path Gu Immortal Gu, and could not adopt demonic path methods.

A super force had much more robust strength than a lone immortal, but these forces usually did not lightly offend any Gu Immortal.

The same went for Wu clan.

A super force had huge assets and businesses, if a Gu Immortal could not be killed and escaped, they could destroy many resources of the super force and be a huge headache to the super force.

Wu Yong had this consideration as well when he accepted Fang Yuan's idea of giving some concessions to Mountain Moving Old Monster in regards to Mount Snail.

"Hmm... it is better to probe and determine the value of Lun Fei's inheritance. If it is not high, forget it."

"If the value is high and I am to make a move, I need to be absolutely careful to not let his soul self-detonate."

There was no need to think about Immortal Gu, they could not be obtained.

But Fang Yuan could kill Lun Fei and capture his soul, to obtain the food path inheritance by soul searching.

Fang Yuan had always held food path inheritances in high expectations.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of fortuitous encounters, he could do nothing about it.

Since there were no fortuitous encounters, then he had to make a move himself and rob others.

Fang Yuan did not have any feeling of guilt!

Many Gu Immortals were particular about not attacking others if others did not attack them.

However, Fang Yuan was someone who, even if others did not attack him, would go attack them.

"I brewed this tea over seven days and seven nights, fairy, now being able to receive your praise, it was all worth it." Lun Fei's tone was slightly shaking with excitement.

He then looked at Fang Yuan and said with a hint of challenge: "I wonder what tea Lord Wu Yi Hai is going to show us?"

He had not even the slightest idea that Fang Yuan was already brewing thoughts of killing him.

"Eastern Sea is the most plentiful region in terms of resources. Wu Yi Hai has lived in Eastern Sea for many years, any tea he brings out will definitely surpass others and be the top tea." Luo Mu Zi sat back and spoke with enthusiasm.

Fang Yuan smiled.

These two were Qiao Si Liu's pursuers, after realizing Fang Yuan's 'threat', they had tacitly allied to put Fang Yuan in an awkward situation.

They praised Fang Yuan highly, making it difficult for him to refuse their request.

Qiao Si Liu slightly frowned.

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei's thoughts were slightly devious. If Wu Yi Hai could not showcase such a tea, the situation would be awkward. Even if he could, his reputation would suffer.

The reason?

Because this event was hosted by Qiao Si Liu. Qiao clan's bewitching tea was the main tea, while other Gu Immortals' teas were supplementary.

The guests should not overshadow the host, this was an unwritten rule of the moon festival. Qiao clan might not care about it, but Wu Yi Hai's reputation would suffer.

The righteous path was very concerned about reputation!

Fang Yuan, however, had no hesitation.

He directly took out five cups of tea and indicated to the others: "Please enjoy."

Fairy Tian Lu's eyes brightened, being the first to pick up a cup: "I am very curious as to what Lord Wu Yi Hai's tea is like?"

But the first person to drink the tea was not her, but Lun Fei.

He looked somewhat hurried.

This was the best opportunity to knock down his rival, as a food path Gu Immortal, he was proficient in this aspect, how could he not take this opportunity?

But with just one sip, he immediately frowned and spat it out: "Pshaw, what rotten tea is this?"

"Awful, too awful." Luo Mu Zi also took a sip before placing the cup down: "This is the most revolting tea I have ever had in my life, it might even be worse than mortal tea."

His tone was extremely impolite, with no hint of respect towards a rival.

The two had firmly grasped the opportunity to attack Fang Yuan's reputation.

Fairy Tian Lu wanted to help mediate the situation, but after drinking it, she gave a helpless smile: "This tea is salty and bitter, it is like seawater."

Fang Yuan smiled and unexpectedly admitted: "It is seawater."

"What?"

"You actually brought seawater? Are you trying to shame Fairy Si Liu!"

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei quickly sent verbal attacks.

The smile on Fang Yuan's face disappeared, replaced by solemness: "I don't like to drink tea, if I had to choose, this seawater would be my tea."

"You do not understand."

"I lived the life of a secluded cultivator in Eastern Sea, an orphan with no one to rely on and with calamities and tribulations pressuring me at all times."

"Every day, I would wake up early and scoop a bowl of salty seawater to drink, this was to remind myself to not slack and continue persevering."

The pavilion immediately fell into silence.

Qiao Si Liu slowly lifted her cup amidst this silence and took a sip, before slowly putting the cup down.

She smiled, her rosy lips and white teeth seemed brighter than the beautiful moonlight: "This is the most special tea I have had in my life, thank you, Yi Hai. This tea is good, I am truly moved."

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei fell into silence seeing that the person they loved had responded like this.

-x-X-x-

"Are you kidding me! My nine recollecting fragrances cannot even compare to a cup of seawater?" Luo Mu Zi roared inwardly, while maintaining his calm appearance on the surface.

"Damn! This Wu Yi Hai is playing tricks and pulled a fast one, we are offering tea, yet he offers seawater? He is too shameless! Fairy Si Liu even approved of him, this is too infuriating!" Veins started to bulge in Lun Fei's clenched fists below the table.

Fairy Tian Lu quickly calmed the situation: "The moon is high in the sky, since we have already drunk tea, if there are no poems to accompany this festival, it would not be complete."

Fang Yuan pretended to not understand: "Are we really going to recite poems?"

He looked like he had heard it for the first time.

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei's eyes immediately brightened. This was another opportunity!

Another opportunity to knock down their rival.

"You managed to get away with it the previous time, duping your way through. This time, I am going to push you down from the limelight, then fiercely step on you a couple times."

Luo Mu Zi's mind was revolving around this thought, but on the surface, he was still wearing a smile and had a graceful demeanor.

The same went for Lun Fei, having similar thoughts.

However, they did not know what kind of person Fang Yuan was.

Competing in poetry?!

Heavens!

This was worse than showing off in front of an expert.

Fang Yuan came from Earth, he had a large stockpile of traditional poems in his head, including those renowned works as well as earthshaking masterpieces. He could easily use one of them and these two would be unable to save face.

"Yes, we are going to recite poems, there is a story behind this." Qiao Si Liu answered Fang Yuan.

"Oh? Please explain." Fang Yuan continued to ask.

"This is a story that has been passed down in Southern Border, and is also the origin of the moon festival." Qiao Si Liu said with eloquence.

Once upon a time, at a certain village in Southern Border.

A young man fell in love with an old Gu Master's daughter, and this Gu Master's daughter also was in love with this mortal youth.

The youth mustered up his courage to propose the marriage, but he was met with the old Gu Master's rejection.

"You are only a mortal, while my daughter is a Gu Master with a bright future, how could you be worthy of my daughter? Get lost!"

The young man implored and begged, but the old Gu Master sneered: "You are daydreaming, thinking I will let my daughter marry you! You, a mere mortal who cannot even brew tea? What use do you have?"

The youth replied: "Isn't it just tea? What is so difficult about it, if I brew it, will you marry your daughter to me?"

The old Gu Master felt a headache.

He knew his daughter loved this youth deeply, forcefully breaking them up would only make his daughter hate him.

"If you can make a cup of tea that meets my expectations, I will give you a chance."

The youth was joyous and agreed immediately: "Sir, I will definitely make it."

The Gu Master daughter was extremely worried when she heard about this: "My family is reputed for our famous tea, and you have to make a tea which can satisfy my father. You are only a mortal with no Gu Master abilities, how can you brew a good tea?"

The young man, however, replied: "Don't worry. Who says mortals cannot brew tea? Let me tell you three principles."

"The first principle: the law of the jungle, big fish eats small fish, and small fish eats shrimps."

Saying that, the young man walked to a stream and hooked a big fish, he cut the fish, retrieving a small fish inside, he then cut the small fish, and took out a shrimp from the inside.

"The second principle: humans need to eat and also need to defecate."

The young man then ate the shrimp and pooped out a pile of faeces.

"The third principle: faeces can nourish vegetation to grow better."

The young man buried his faeces under the soil, and sure enough, flowers and plants started to flourish and grow.

The young man plucked a kind of flower from among them and soaked it in the stream, the entire small stream turned into tea.

The old Gu Master could not speak for a long while after he took a sip of this tea.

His daughter said, "Father, you are not thinking of reneging on your promise, right?"

Only then did the old Gu Master nod reluctantly: "Boy, you have passed the first test. But it is still impossible for you, a mortal, to marry my daughter. You are too crude and lack talent, you cannot recite poems."

The youth scratched his head and spoke worriedly: "Although I have not recited poems before, I can give it a try."

The old Gu Master scoffed: "You?"

The youth asked back: "Why can't I?"

"Boy, reciting poems is not just casually chanting a few phrases. We Gu Masters can cause heaven and earth to change by reciting poems, we can make humans dance with joy. Can you do that?"

The youth said in a low tone: "How would I know if I don't give it a try?"

"Alright, then try, don't say I didn't give you a chance. If you fail, then you need to leave and never see my daughter again."

The youth had no choice but to agree, he began to pace around, thinking of a poem to recite.

But he had never recited a poem before, he had no clue how to start.

At this moment, he saw the ants on the ground, he saw the birds and the setting sun outside the window. Suddenly, he patted his head.

He began to recite: "Sparrows fly low and snakes slither around, ants move their homes as it rains down."

Southern Border had many rainy days, and it was currently springtime as well.

The youth had just finished speaking, when light rain began to appear in the sky.

The old Gu Master's expression changed.

The youth continued: "A drop of spring rain resembles a drop of oil, too much of it sends us into turmoil."

The rain got heavier and the sky turned dark.

The old Gu Master's expression was slightly unsightly.

The youth grabbed his head and scratched his cheek: "Elm trees droop as farming commences, hair falls as seeds scatter."

At this point, the youth was stuck and for the life of him, he could not recite the final line.

"I will give you some more time." The old Gu Master sneered.

The youth's eyes brightened as he pointed at the old Gu Master and said: "Lord took away all the grains, our hungry stomachs are all in pain."

The old Gu Master immediately stomped his foot in anger and stood up, breaking the teacup in his hand.

Then, he pointed at the young man and shouted: "A mere mortal dares to be so audacious!"

But his daughter laughed and clapped: "Amazing, this song changed heaven and earth, and even made father dance."

The old Gu Master was furious at seeing his daughter side with her boyfriend, but was unable to retort.

"Good, good, good, consider that you have passed the second test, but there is still the final one. You want to marry my daughter, what about the betrothal gift? Can you take out a betrothal gift that can satisfy me?"

The youth lowered his head dejectedly, he lived in a thatched cottage, slept on a straw mat and only had one set of patched clothes.

"I will use all my assets as the betrothal gift." The youth spoke in a serious tone.

"Let me see them!" The old Gu Master said.

The young man brought the old Gu Master to his residence, to that old thatched cottage.

He then said: "These are all my assets."

"This old hut with holes everywhere?" The old Gu Master pointed with disdain.

"This straw mat that is about to break?" The old Gu Master threw the straw mat.

"These rocks used as stools?" The old Gu Master kicked the rocks and broke them.

The youth lowered his head.

Every sentence the old Gu Master said made the young man's head lower further down.

When the old Gu Master said his third sentence, the youth's head had almost hung down to his chest.

But right at this time, from a rock the old Gu Master has kicked open, a beautiful Gu worm that looked like the moon flew out leisurely, shining brightly.

The old Gu Master was stunned.

The youth was also stunned, he had picked up this rock casually from the base of the mountain.

The old Gu Master's daughter cried out happily: "This Gu worm is definitely enough as the betrothal gift, right?"

The old Gu Master was unable to retort, he could not say anything and finally, he could only rub his nose and marry his daughter to this mortal lad.

Fang Yuan had already heard of this story before, it was indeed interesting.

The story portrayed a conflict between a mortal and a Gu Master, and actually ended up with the mortal's victory.

The youth had braved through the three hurdles, finally getting together with the beauty, who was also a Gu Master. The old Gu Master had not used strength from start to finish, this did not conform to logic. It, however, showed a lowly mortal's thirst towards a better life, as well as pursuing happiness.

Qiao Si Liu narrated the story to Fang Yuan, conveniently explaining the customs of the moon festival as well.

Why it was that during the moon festival, the people in Southern Border, be they Gu Immortals or mortals, would make tea, recite poems and dissect rocks.

Naturally, the tea brewing of mortals was done with ordinary tea leaves, and as for dissecting rocks, it was replaced by breaking pebbles as a way of receiving auspicious blessings.

"This is quite an interesting story, thank you, Fairy Si Liu, for answering my doubts." Fang Yuan said, politely.

Qiao Si Liu smiled: "Why are you so polite, you can just call me Si Liu."

"Huh?!" Luo Mu Zi's eyes opened wide.

Qiao Si Liu's attitude towards Wu Yi Hai was completely different from how she treated the two of them.

"We have had tea already, now let us recite poems." Lun Fei said, his gaze towards Fang Yuan flashed with some coldness and his tone had also turned somewhat icier.

Qiao Si Liu's beautiful eyes turned towards Lun Fei: "Lun Fei, you are already eager, I am very interested to listen to your masterpiece."

Lun Fei laughed happily, the coldness on his face completely dissipated as he replied: "Then let me recite my simple work."

He stood up and slowly walked outside the pavilion as he recited —

Stepping into society as an ignorant youngster,

Step by step I walk by myself.

But tonight I do not drink alone,

Because my dream beauty is here under the moon.

Lun Fei, in his blue robe and with fair appearance, recited slowly.

The first two lines described his cultivation experiences, hinting at his lonely journey.

The last two lines described the current situation, especially the last line, it was an implicit confession.

He had walked out of the pavilion, and after his recital, he returned inside, gazing deeply at Qiao Si Liu.

Qiao Si Liu sensed the passion in his eyes and quickly turned around to look at Fang Yuan.

However, Fang Yuan neither looked at her nor showed hostility towards Lun Fei, he was just quietly drinking tea.

A trace of disappointment flashed past Qiao Si Liu's eyes.

-x-X-x-

"Good poem, good poem." Fairy Tian Lu laughed charmingly: "Especially the last line, my dream beauty is here under the moon, it was truly beautiful. I think it is definitely talking about me, hehe."

She improvised a humorous remark, easing the atmosphere in the pavilion.

Lun Fei gave a helpless and bitter smile, sitting down again: "Please don't mind my crude creation, it is hardly presentable."

"Lun Fei, you are too modest, I have a poem as well." Luo Mu Zi said.

"Oh? We would love to hear it." Qiao Si Liu smiled, looking at Luo Mu Zi with anticipation.

Luo Mu Zi turned silent for a moment before slowly reciting.

Climbed mountains to seek immortality,

Danger present in every step.

Dust specks float like light,

Dark Gu lurk in heart.

A dream like golden jade,

Thousands of years of loneliness.

Five regions and nine heavens,

Everything is in one breath.

The concept and imagination in this poem with five words in each line immediately moved the Gu Immortals.

They carefully savored it.

Climbed mountains to seek immortality, referred to a Gu Immortal's cultivation.

Danger present in every step, Gu Immortals needed to deal with calamities and tribulations in their cultivation, devoting all their effort in managing their immortal aperture. It was like climbing a mountain, the higher they reached, the more dangerous it became.

Dust specks float like light, the meaning was that time was always passing by, and in the mortal world, dust gathered on people and people were like floating dust.

Dark Gu lurk in heart, on the surface, it referred to Gu Immortals storing Immortal Gu and mortal Gu in their immortal apertures. But the Gu Immortals present had deep background in literature, they could already savor the deeper meaning.

Dark Gu referred to darkness, setbacks, failures, compromises, disappointments, and other negative feelings.

Mortals thought immortals had good lives, but immortals faced difficulties they did not know. Just look at the living beings in the world, who was truly free and unfettered?

Gu Immortals endured huge pressure in their cultivation, it was unavoidable for them to have negative feelings, even Immortal Venerables and Demon Venerables were not an exception.

Climbed mountains to seek immortality, danger present in every step. Dust specks float like light, dark Gu lurk in heart. These phrases were brief but contained profound meaning, which when carefully considered, resonated greatly with Gu Immortals.

The lines after this, 'a dream like golden jade, thousands of years of loneliness'; it referred to gold and jade, all kinds of wealth, being superficial objects and just like dreams. As time passes, love, hatred, and all feelings disappear. It showed how the poet looked indifferently at the changes in the world, that their mind was free from mortal emotions.

The final phrase 'five regions and nine heavens, everything is in one breath' was filled with vigor and majesty, sweeping away the gloominess and heaviness from the previous lines. There were several other meanings to it, as long as humans had one breath left in them they were living, when they lose this breath, they would die. People strived and fought for that one breath. Using the world as an analogy, Gu Immortal cultivation was just like the pillars holding up the five regions and nine heavens, everyone was just working hard to support themselves.

The entire poem was slow at first before it became faster in momentum, creating a majestic scene that filled the listeners with admiration.

For a moment, the pavilion was filled with silence, the immortals quietly ruminating over this poem.

Qiao Si Liu thought to herself: "Strange, from my understanding of Luo Mu Zi, how could he create such a poem with his nature? He probably stole someone else's work, hmm, he also did not say it was his creation."

She sized up Luo Mu Zi.

Luo Mu Zi looked calm on the surface, sitting upright as he quietly drank his tea, but the smile on his lips gave away his inner feelings.

Qiao Si Liu inwardly smiled, but did not expose him.

She then turned her sight towards Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan's expression was unexpectedly strange!

"This is Qi Jue's Five Words Poem? How is it possible! Didn't Demon Immortal Qi Jue's grotto-heaven only appear when dream realms flourished in the five regions chaotic war?"

'Strange! Strange! Strange!'

Demon Immortal Qi Jue was a great expert from the Olden Antiquity Era, a rank eight Gu Immortal with immense battle strength who had once fought Limitless Demon Venerable three times, the results were a win, a draw, and a loss.

Naturally, the first two battles were when Limitless Demon Venerable had yet to advance to rank nine.

And, in the final battle, Limitless Demon Venerable had advanced to rank nine, surpassing Demon Immortal Qi Jue. But the battle had still lasted for nine days and nine nights, before the latter was defeated. However, Limitless Demon Venerable did not kill Demon Immortal Qi Jue and let him go.

Limitless Demon Venerable had said this at the time: "You were my biggest enemy, but without you, I would not have trained so desperately. You also had a hand in pushing me towards my current cultivation level."

Having received the recognition and praise of a grand Demon Venerable, Demon Immortal Qi Jue's name was marked in history.

The grotto-heaven left after his death had lasted until the present.

In Fang Yuan's first life, dream realms manifested one after another during the five regions chaotic war, regional walls disappeared and the five regions turned into one. Such a huge change created a turbulence in heaven and earth qi, exposing many hidden blessed lands and grotto-heavens to the outside world.

Demon Immortal Qi Jue's grotto heaven was revealed in such a situation.

Undoubtedly, the moment it appeared, it caused an uproar in the five regions.

"That shouldn't be."

"Simple logic is that Qi Jue's Five Words Poem was engraved in Qi Jue grotto heaven. How did Luo Mu Zi know of it at this time?"

'Could it be, he has already entered Qi Jue grotto heaven?!'

Fang Yuan's thoughts became somewhat chaotic for a moment.

Qi Jue grotto heaven contained the Demon Immortal's true inheritance. This Demon Immortal was on the same level as Sword Immortal Bo Qing, even Hei Fan paled in comparison to him!

"If I could obtain this true inheritance..."

"Will I obtain Qi Jue's true inheritance by killing this Luo Mu Zi?"

Intense killing intent rose in Fang Yuan's mind once again.

Without knowing Fang Yuan's thoughts, Luo Mu Zi gave a challenging glance to Fang Yuan: "I wonder what great work Wu Yi Hai has? We are really looking forward to it."

"That is natural." Lun Fei quickly chipped in: "Lord Wu Yi Hai's origin is not ordinary, he has plenty of experiences and what's more, Eastern Sea is very rich in resources. I can't compare to the scholarly attainment of Wu Yi Hai."

These two praised Fang Yuan with pleasant words, but their thoughts were anything but good.

Qiao Si Liu was well aware of it, at this moment, she did not protect Fang Yuan but stared at Fang Yuan and encouraged him: "I also really want to listen to your poem, I am sure it will definitely be interesting and special."

"Yes, yes." Fairy Tian Lu quickly agreed.

For a moment, Fang Yuan was pressured by everyone, he rubbed his nose and gave a forced smile: "Friends, you are all overestimating me, how could I have poems, I don't know how to make any."

"Wu Yi Hai, you are modest! Too modest!" Luo Mu Zi laughed.

Fang Yuan shrugged: "I am telling the truth, I did not even know we would have to recite poems to appreciate the moon."

"Since that is the case, Wu Yi Hai, why don't you make one right now, it should be a wonderful work, don't worry if it takes a bit of time, we are all willing to wait." Lun Fei said, not letting Fang Yuan off.

Fang Yuan heaved a deep sigh.

Of course, he had a lot of poems in his head.

There was many poems praised since ancient times from Earth, he could casually copy any of those famous stanzas, it would be enough for this occasion and resolve the difficulties from these Gu Immortals.

But...

But so what?

Fang Yuan gazed around.

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei loved Qiao Si Liu, they naturally considered Fang Yuan an eyesore, both had come to a tacit agreement to work together and knock down their rival. What good would it do for him to contend with such losers?

Fairy Tian Lu was Qiao Si Liu's best friend and was indeed working hard, helping Qiao Si Liu wholeheartedly. As for her lover, he did not speak much and was silent most of the time, quietly drinking tea from the side, this showed how astute he was.

As for Qiao Si Liu...

This fairy had both appearance and background, and was one of the three great beauties of Southern Border, she naturally had her pride.

Qiao clan might have ordered her to approach Fang Yuan, but she had her own methods.

She had thought meticulously in hosting this moon festival today. She had thought out everything, not only taking care of small details like seating order, she had also brought her best friend to help her, and an even more brilliant move was that she had invited Lun Fei and Luo Mu Zi to take part in the event.

When two men compete with each other over a girl, even if she was a pig, they would think she is awesome. Only when one wins and the other is out of the competition, and when the victor looks at this pig, he will then realize: oh, this was a pig after all!

This was rather exaggerated, but the logic was similar.

When a competitor appears, it would make the girl who is being pursued seem even more precious and more valuable.

Qiao Si Liu was well aware of this logic, so she made this arrangement to evoke Fang Yuan's thoughts and make him take the initiative to pursue her, then she could conveniently agree and hook Fang Yuan in.

If it were the real Wu Yi Hai, perhaps he might have already fallen into the planning of beauty.

Unfortunately, the one she was facing was Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan remained unmoved the whole time because he knew the relation between Wu clan and Qiao clan, and also the scheme of Qiao clan's higher-ups.

With this understanding, Fang Yuan was in a strategically superior and stable position, while Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei were no more than roadside clowns.

When Fang Yuan sized up the Gu Immortals in the pavilion, the Gu Immortals were also focusing their gazes on him.

There was silence in the pavilion, this silence was no doubt a kind of pressure.

"Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei want to embarrass me. Qiao Si Liu also wants me to accept the challenge, hmm....maybe she is feeling a little upset. After all, for such a beauty, the seawater was too rude. As for Fairy Tian Lu, she is completely on Qiao Si Liu's side, and is nothing to worry about..."

Fang Yuan thought of all this, smiling inwardly as he said: "Then let me recite one, don't laugh at me."

"We are all ears!"

"We are looking forward to it!"

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei were all smiles.

At the next moment, the immortals heard Fang Yuan's poem —

"Oh great sea, you are made of water."

"Oh horse, you have four legs."

"Oh beauty, you have large eyes and a mouth!"

The poem ended.

The entire pavilion was silent!

Everyone's expression seemed to have stiffened.

Even Qiao Si Liu and Fairy Tian Lu were no exception.

"This, this, this... what the f*ck!"

"This is a poem? This is rubbish!!"

"This Wu Yi Hai is an utter boor."

"What nonsense is this? Appreciating the moon and reciting poems, it was an elegant event, now it is completely ruined!"

The Gu Immortals were unanimously screaming internally.

Fang Yuan was all smiles as he looked at Qiao Si Liu: "I wonder if Fairy Si Liu is satisfied?"

"Satisfied? Screw you!"

"You still have the nerves to ask this question? You are simply too outrageous!!"

Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei roared inwardly, but being mindful of their bearing, they showed nothing on the surface. The pavilion was still a scene of silence.

"Heh... hehe..." Qiao Si Liu laughed, even though it sounded very forced: "This poem is really special, to tell the truth, I... I have never heard such a poem. It is indeed worthy of being your creation... now that I carefully consider it, it is actually quite funny."

Luo Mu Zi:"..."

Lun Fei:"..."