65 Muddy Business, Seeking Bubble Fish

Fox Immortal Blessed Land, Soul-Purging Palace.

"Stargate Gu's recipe?" Qi Tian sneered upon receiving the formula from Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan handing over the Stargate Gu recipe seemed generous on the surface, but it was actually a trap!

The materials for refining Stargate Gu were extremely rare, requiring many ancient Gu worms, and even one or two auxiliary materials that dated back to the Primordial Era.

Even if Qi Tian tried to collect these materials in Treasure Yellow Heaven, it would take a great deal of effort.

More importantly, the success rate of refining Stargate Gu was abysmally low—less than 1 in 100 attempts would succeed.

Even disregarding the time needed to gather a hundred sets of materials, the amount of Immortal Essence Stones required was an enormous burden for Qi Tian, who had just begun managing his blessed land.

If Qi Tian attempted to refine the Gu himself, it would consume a great deal of time and energy.

This was Fang Yuan's way of covertly exploiting him!

Fang Yuan mentioned the scarcity of the materials but conveniently omitted that many came from ancient and even primordial times. He stated that the success rate was low but did not clarify that it was below 1%.

His goal was twofold:

1. To force Qi Tian into wasting time and delaying his cultivation.

2. If Qi Tian succeeded in refining the Stargate Gu, Fang Yuan could also benefit.

Would Qi Tian let Fang Yuan's scheme succeed?

Of course not!

Qi Tian had already extracted the recipe from Fang Yuan's soul. Having read the original novel, he was well aware of how difficult the refinement process was, so he would not foolishly attempt it himself.

Instead, he planned to entrust the task to Langya Earth Spirit. Given the Earth Spirit's love for refining Gu, it was highly likely to refine several pairs just for its collection.

When Ghost Shadow Without a Trace next visited Langya Blessed Land, Qi Tian could use a Rank Five recipe to exchange for a pair.

Once his blessed land developed further and he had more Immortal Essence Stones, he could purchase more materials and employ a batch of aged Hairy Men to refine extra Stargate Gu for backup.

But for now, he had to be frugal. Immortal Essence Stones were precious and could not be squandered on the Stargate Gu.

A Lucrative Business in Treasure Yellow Heaven

Qi Tian reopened the All-Heaven Gu to connect with Treasure Yellow Heaven.

As soon as the connection was established, multiple divine thoughts transmitted over:

"Are you still selling Muddy Harmony?"

"I'm willing to offer two additional Egg Spring Gu on top of Immortal Essence Stones!"

"You need Water Wolf Packs? I have 100,000 Water Wolves, including two Water Wolf Beast Kings."

…

These messages were all about trading Muddy Harmony.

Qi Tian's last sale of Muddy Harmony had attracted considerable attention.

He carefully selected the highest bidders and began negotiating.

Muddy Harmony was an essential material for refining certain Immortal Gu. Any Gu Immortal possessing its recipe or partial formula would collect it. Since it was crucial for refining Immortal Gu, even the mere possibility of success made people willing to pay.

However, this market could easily become saturated. Once buyers stocked up, demand would decline.

Thus, Muddy Harmony was only a short-term business. It provided a good initial influx of Immortal Essence Stones, which Qi Tian could use to develop his blessed land.

Qi Tian's strategy was to maximize profits from these trades while they lasted.

This time, he sold four to five times more Muddy Harmony than before, earning an impressive haul:

11 Immortal Essence Stones.

Various cultivation resources:

60,000 Water Wolves, including 2 Beast Kings. (Placed near the eastern lake of Fox Immortal Blessed Land.)

4,000 Hairy Men (1,000 elder Hairy Men, 3,000 regular Hairy Men). (Sent to Night Soul Blessed Land for Gu refinement.)

"With Hairy Men, refining Gu becomes much easier. I can assign them the task and mass-produce Gu!"

Most Gu Immortals raised Hairy Men to assist in Gu refinement. With their help, even Rank Five Gu would never be in short supply—only Immortal Gu required special attention.

Qi Tian had raised a batch of Hairy Men in his past life, so he was experienced in managing them.

He wished to introduce even more Hairy Men into his blessed land, but they were in high demand.

Among the various races traded in Treasure Yellow Heaven, Hairy Men were the most sought-after, often more expensive than human slaves. They were far superior to Stone Men.

Given his limited funds, obtaining 4,000 Hairy Men was already a stroke of luck.

After this deal, Qi Tian put another batch of Muddy Harmony up for sale, waiting for the best price.

"Still, Muddy Harmony trading won't last forever," Qi Tian mused, furrowing his brow.

Each trade yielded a fortune—this time, 11 Immortal Essence Stones, adding to the 3 from last time, making 14 in total.

After the next transaction, he expected to surpass 20 stones, nearing 30!

The profits were significant, but based on his calculations, after the next deal, the market would cool down. Prices would fall, and it would be harder to sell at high prices.

"Heh, short-term or not, I should be satisfied!" Qi Tian chuckled. "Earning these Immortal Essence Stones so easily—what's there to complain about?"

Long-term profit strategies could come later.

Besides, making too much money too quickly would attract unwanted attention. Without enough strength, it was better to keep a low profile.

Introducing the Bubble Fish

Now that the Water Wolf packs were in Fox Immortal Blessed Land, Qi Tian needed to address their ecological impact.

Wolves reproduced quickly, and many blessed lands periodically sold excess wolves to Treasure Yellow Heaven to prevent overpopulation.

Fox Immortal Blessed Land already had plenty of small prey like rabbits and pheasants, but they were primarily food for the fox population.

If food became scarce, the wolves and foxes would start preying on each other, leading to severe internal losses.

To balance the ecosystem, Qi Tian needed to introduce a suitable food source.

The Night Soul Blessed Land had an abundance of Fat Mud Fish, but he decided not to relocate them.

Instead, he planned to introduce Bubble Fish, which would also help with cultivating Star Glow Gu.

Bubble Fish were unique—they swam by bobbing up and down. When threatened, they floated above the water, and some even remained airborne permanently, feeding on airborne microorganisms.

Mature Bubble Fish would rise into the clouds over Fox Immortal Blessed Land, consuming Star Glow Worms, which would later transform into Star Glow Gu.

However, Fat Mud Fish could not coexist with Bubble Fish because they would devour their eggs.

Qi Tian ultimately chose Green Jade Carps, which fed on jade stones and posed no threat to Bubble Fish eggs.

With a large workforce of Stone Men capable of mining jade, food for Green Jade Carps was abundant.

Thus, with Green Jade Carps providing food for the Water Wolves, the ecosystem was secured.

Unfortunately, Bubble Fish were rare and mainly found in the Southern Sea. They were semi-transparent, round-bellied fish that greatly boosted Gu refinement rates, making them highly valuable.

Any time they appeared in Treasure Yellow Heaven, they were quickly snapped up.

"I must keep an eye out for Bubble Fish. No matter the price, I need to buy some!" Qi Tian resolved.

He recalled that by the end of this year, a battle between two Gu Immortals would poison Bubble Sea, turning it into a dead zone. After that, Bubble Fish prices would skyrocket tenfold!

So he had to secure them before then.

While he continued monitoring the Bubble Fish market, he also kept an eye out for Beast Emperors.

Though rare, if one ever appeared in Treasure Yellow Heaven, he would seriously consider buying it.

After finalizing his trades, Qi Tian was preparing to enter Night Soul Blessed Land when a message arrived in his Drunken Swap Gu, altering his plans.