“Master, you are finally back!” Little Hu Immortal was already waiting before the stargate and when Fang Yuan appeared, she immediately jumped towards him and hugged his leg, rubbing it with her cute rosy cheeks.
“Hehe, you have worked hard during these days when I was not here.” Fang Yuan smiled warmly and lightly stroked Little Hu Immortal’s head.
Little Hu Immortal’s fox ears shivered slightly, a blissful expression appeared on her face and her snow-white tail started shaking lightly behind her.
“This is… a land spirit? So this is a blessed land!” Tai Bai Yun Sheng stepped out of the stargate closely after Fang Yuan, and was startled at seeing Little Hu Immortal.
He had heard Little Hu Immortal addressing Fang Yuan as ‘master’.
Fang Yuan was only a mortal, but he already possessed a blessed land! In history, there were some people who had such fortune. The most famous one was Giant Sun Immortal Venerable. He had luckily inherited Imperial Court blessed land when he was still just a mortal. And in his later cultivation journey, Imperial Court blessed land was of huge assistance.
“Haha, this blessed land’s name is Hu Immortal blessed land. I seized it forcibly from several sects of central continent, under master’s order.” Fang Yuan proudly replied.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s gaze immediately changed.
There was a difference between immortal and mortal, but right now, he was looking at Fang Yuan as an equal, asking: “I would assume that the process of snatching this blessed land was very dangerous, right?”
“Naturally, even now when I think of it, I still have some lingering fear.” Fang Yuan laughed heartily, “But in the end, winner takes all, everything is just that simple. I obtained the blessed land, becoming the final winner. The greater the risk, the greater the profits!”
Tai Bai Yun Sheng nodded, sighing inwardly: this profit is simply too immense!
A blessed land with a land spirit was the immortal aperture of a fallen Gu Immortal. Possessing such a blessed land was akin to inheriting the Gu Immortal’s immortal aperture and cultivation resources!
Simultaneously, the impression of Fang Yuan’s audacious nature deepened by another level in Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s mind.
“Master, who is he? His aura is strong.” Little Hu Immortal sensed Tai Bai Yun Sheng brimming with Gu Immortal aura. She could not help but be tense, gripping on Fang Yuan’s pants, appearing somewhat nervous and on guard.
“Relax, he is on our side, and is here to help us save Dang Hun mountain.” Fang Yuan comforted Little Hu Immortal, “Take us to Dang Hun mountain.”
Little Hu Immortal’s eyes brightened upon hearing this. She trusted her master’s words unconditionally.
She immediately let down her guard and disappeared on the spot, taking Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng with her.
The next moment, Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng were teleported to the center of the blessed land, the location of Dang Hun mountain.
Dang Hun mountain had already been deformed completely from the corrosion of Gruel Mud. Only a small mound remained of the lofty Dang Hun mountain.
Dang Hun Palace, which was on Dang Hun mountain previously, had naturally been destroyed.
“Master, if you arrived any later, you would not have been able to see Dang Hun mountain.” Little Hu Immortal said with a sorrowful voice.
Fang Yuan lightly petted her head, then looked towards Tai Bai Yun Sheng.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was a smart man and from this scene along with Fang Yuan’s previous words, he could guess Fang Yuan’s intention in bringing him here.
He nodded towards Fang Yuan, before taking out landscape as before Gu from his aperture.
Immediately, the surging aura of an Immortal Gu filled the surroundings.
“This is?” Little Hu Immortal’s bright eyes opened wide upon this first encounter with landscape as before Gu.
Landscape as before Gu was like a ladybug, it was the size of a fist and had the color of green jade.
Its round shell was engraved with natural patterns; half of the patterns portrayed rivers and lakes that twisted and turned, flowing continuously, while the other half was of mountains and hills, precipitous and overlaid upon one another.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng gave a soft shout; a bead of green grape immortal essence turned into a stream of light that instantly poured into landscape as before Gu.
The Immortal Gu suddenly burst out with green jade light that soared to an extreme height, giving off a radiance that people could not look at intently.
The light radiance covered the remaining Dang Hun mountain.
The corrosion of Gruel Mud on Dang Hun mountain immediately paused under the illumination of the green light. Immortal Gu Gruel Mud’s power was quickly neutralized and then vanquished.
The green light gradually dimmed; Tai Bai Yun Sheng then threw in another bead of green grape immortal essence.
The green light brightened again, covering the devastated Dang Hun mountain and continually cleansing it.
The small mound sized Dang Hun mountain started to grow and strengthen at a visible speed under the radiance.
“Dang Hun mountain is changing back!” Little Hu Immortal clapped her little hands, prancing around happily.
But the good scene did not last long, Dang Hun mountain only recovered by twenty percent when the green light weakened again.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s expression changed slightly: “What kind of mountain is this? It actually exhausted a green grape immortal essence!”
He was able to create thirty-six green grape immortal essence beads in his ascension to Gu Immortal. But later, using movement Gu crazily to dodge chaotic lightning balls expended one bead of immortal essence. Then in his own immortal aperture, to resist the heavenly tribulation and earthly calamity after the formation of Immortal Gu, he had continuously activated landscape as before Gu to restore his aperture to its previous condition, spending three whole beads on it.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had a clear understanding of how precious immortal essence was; now he had just started to restore Dang Hun mountain but had used up two beads of immortal essence.
At this rate, he would have to at least expend five to six beads of green grape immortal essence!
Fang Yuan smiled: “Dang Hun mountain.”
“Dang Hun mountain?” When Tai Bai Yun Sheng heard the name, his expression underwent a great change, his eyes opened wide and he spoke with a shocked tone, “Could it be?”
“It is indeed the one in <<The Legends of Ren Zu>>, how could there be another Dang Hun mountain?” Fang Yuan laughed.
“To think, to think I would actually be able to see the legendary Dang Hun mountain! This is the sacred land of soul path cultivators that Spectral Soul Demon Venerable had praised endlessly.” Tai Bai Yun Sheng was extremely moved as he kept on exclaiming in admiration.
It was the first time even for him to witness a thing of such legend.
When he glanced at Fang Yuan, Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s gaze had another subtle change.
He did not say anything else but quietly used a third bead of immortal essence to maintain the activation of landscape as before Gu.
This time, Dang Hun mountain was restored to forty percent before the green light dimmed.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng used a fourth bead, then a fifth bead and finally a sixth bead before Dang Hun mountain fully recovered.
“It is truly Dang Hun mountain, requiring six whole beads of green grape immortal essence to recover completely.” Tai Bai Yun Sheng mumbled while looking at the tall mountain in front of him.
Dang Hun mountain was magnificently beautiful; ordinary mountains could not even compare to it.
It was a pink crystal mountain, emitting an unforgettably dreamy radiance.
“Mast… Master, Dang Hun mountain’s disease has been treated.” Little Hu Immortal’s eyes had turned red, “Sob sob sob….”
She cried tears of joy, before lowering her head and using her delicate little hands to wipe the tears.
Fang Yuan also let out a breath of turbid air when he gazed at Dang Hun mountain.
Now, the objective for infiltrating into northern plains was finally achieved!
So many days and nights of effort, taking risks in the battlefields, disguising, racking his brains to scheme; they were all not in vain.
At this moment, a soaring fire burned in Fang Yuan’s heart.
This burning fire had a name — ambition!
Restoring Dang Hun mountain could no longer satisfy his appetite. There were still opportunities left in Imperial Court blessed land!
Especially now, Giant Sun’s will was expelled out of the tower; Eighty-Eight True Yang Building had become akin to an ownerless object.
Even if false emotion fake will Gu was an Immortal Gu and was difficult to capture, Fang Yuan had used his silver tongue to obtain Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s trust, succeeding in roping in the crucial battle power that could influence the situation.
When the time comes, using a Gu Immortal’s will, forcefully refining false emotion fake will Gu was not an impossible matter.
“Let’s go, back to northern plains.” Fang Yuan came and left just as quickly, with Tai Bai Yun Sheng in tow.
Before leaving, he handed burial soul toad to Little Hu Immortal.
Burial soul toad was a storage Gu used to store souls. There were souls of humans and beasts, and they had mostly been gathered by Fang Yuan from the battlefields.
These would turn into large numbers of guts Gu through Dang Hun mountain.
When they returned to Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, the starlight firefly Gu supporting the stargate were already spent by over half; Fang Yuan quickly stored what remained into his aperture.
It was extremely difficult to accumulate starlight firefly Gu. The current amount could only support one more activation of the stargate.
“We are back again.” Tai Bai Yun Sheng was deeply moved.
In this trip, he had directly gone from northern plains to central continent and back to northern plains from central continent. It was truly a travel disregarding distance, he felt like he was free to go anywhere in the world!
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had only heard of hole earth Gu and connecting heaven Gu in methods that could allow one to connect between blessed lands and grotto-heavens; he had never heard of the method Fang Yuan used.
“Probably only people like sixth junior brother are worthy of such mystical methods. Maybe this was imparted to him by master.” Tai Bai Yun Sheng trusted Fang Yuan even more after the trip to Hu Immortal blessed land.
Fang Yuan was only a mortal at the moment, but he possessed a blessed land, this by itself was sufficient to prove many issues.
Dang Hun mountain’s magnificent scene was even more deeply imprinted in Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s mind.
Seeing is believing!
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had no choice but to believe it.
Fang Yuan first revealed his true appearance, then used lifespan Gu, revealing secret information to obtain Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s trust. Fang Yuan had also resolved the doubt in Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s heart — why True Yang Building had helped him endure the tribulation for no rhyme or reason.
Fang Yuan’s words and the evidence he showed to Tai Bai Yun Sheng were almost all true, except the lies at the crucial points.
Nine truths and one lie; the lie would eventually become the truth. Especially when this lie involved the deepest secret of Tai Bai Yun Sheng. Tai Bai Yun Sheng had never revealed it to outsiders while Fang Yuan knew it by soul searching.
Among all these, the true marvel lied in Fang Yuan grasping Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s psychology completely.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had been feeling extreme guilt after betraying Gao Yang and Zhu Zai; he denied the value of his own existence. Under stimulation, he went through Gu Immortal ascension and even charged towards tribulation, thinking of ending it all.
But when he successfully passed the tribulation and became a Gu Immortal, he stood at a whole new height, looking at a different scene.
His mind came back to life, and after passing the tribulation with much difficulty as well as getting his immortal aperture blessed land, he did not want to die anymore.
He wanted to make a fresh start.
But he had an unresolved matter tugging his heart.
He needed hope, he needed acknowledgement!
Tai Bai Yun Sheng himself was not aware of this psychological need. But Fang Yuan was aware and gave him this acknowledgement.
Fang Yuan’s acknowledgement, in a certain way, represented his master’s acknowledgement.
And Tai Bai Yun Sheng respected his benefactor deeply. His master’s acknowledgement made him feel there was value in him being alive. A mysterious force and a completely new environment attracted his interest.
He had been at the peak of mortals and had experienced all that the mortal world could provide, but in the journey of immortals, he was a child that had just begun to move.
The fifteen year lifespan Gu was in his pocket. He was no longer worried and guilty. He chose to believe Fang Yuan, not only because Fang Yuan explained everything and there were not many pieces of evidence he could contest, but even more importantly —
In the very depths of his heart, he wanted to believe in Fang Yuan!
Every single person who was cheated, was it because they were stupid?
No, it was only because they wanted to believe in it from the depths of their heart.
“Here, your Immortal Gu.” Tai Bai Yun Sheng tossed Fixed Immortal Travel and flying bear phantom Gu to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan nonchalantly accepted them; this casual attitude towards Immortal Gu caused another ripple in Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s heart and trust.
But he received a great shock when Fang Yuan brought out the glass owner token, as at the next moment, he appeared in another round.
Tall and ancient trees were everywhere. Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng were within a dense forest.
Roars and howls interlinked together, giant trees pulled out their roots and stood up, turning into tall treemen.
Within a few moments, Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng were surrounded by treemen one after another.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had a grim expression; one treeman was nothing to him, but the number of treemen here was extremely astonishing, and to completely exterminate them would require him to pay a significant price.
But the next moment, Fang Yuan lightly waved his glass owner token, and this round immediately became under his control.
The treemen stopped moving forward, their killing intent gone as if it was never there.
While Tai Bai Yun Sheng was wearing a stupefied expression, Fang Yuan grabbed his arm and directly teleported in front of Hei Lou Lan and Ma Hong Yun.
There was already an enormous change in the situation here.
Frost Jade Peacock was half-lying on the ground, with Ma Hong Yun and Zhao Lian Yun turtling up under its wings. Surrounding it were layers after layers of treemen unfolding mad attacks.
Hei Lou Lan was fighting nearby with false emotion fake will Gu resting on his shoulder.
He blocked the attacks of the treemen while also launching attacks at Ma Hong Yun and Zhao Lian Yun at the same time.
But these attacks were blocked by the light barrier from Frost Jade Peacock before they could even reach their targets.
“Lord Hei Lou Lan, you are also being attacked by the treemen, your situation is the same as ours! We have neither hatred nor grievance between us, why must you try to kill us?” Ma Hong Yun shouted.
Hei Lou Lan snorted: “Didn’t you hear what old ancestor said? Your girl is an otherworldly demon with a mysterious background and will be a cause of endless disasters, she must be eliminated! Who knows if she and the Chang Shan Yin impersonator are on the same side! Old ancestor was about to attack her just earlier, but suddenly disappeared due to some mishap. You have Giant Sun’s bloodline, you are a person of northern plains; you are actually not able to distinguish right and wrong, you dare to shield an otherworldly demon!”
Ma Hong Yun was furious and immediately retorted: “She is not an otherworldly demon that you all claim, she is innocent! Lord Hei Lou Lan, don’t waste your strength in vain, we have already received the land spirit’s recognition; with the land spirit with us, you can’t kill us!”
When Giant Sun’s will was thrown out of the tower, this round did not have any controller and operated by itself; the treemen treated the land spirit, Ma Hong Yun and others as challengers challenging the round.
Hei Lou Lan wanted to kill Zhao Lian Yun in place of Giant Sun’s will. Ma Hong Yun was ready to give up his life to save her, which strongly shook Zhao Lian Yun’s heart and she started feeling true love for him.
Ma Hong Yun had already treated Zhao Lian Yun with earnest feelings; the two loved each other, and the land spirit acknowledged them as its masters by its own accord.
In this dangerous situation, the land spirit raised a defensive barrier around them, protecting them from the fatal attacks of the treemen and Hei Lou Lan.
As for Chang Li, she had already died miserably under the attacks of the treemen.
Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng appeared on the crown of a treeman, observing the battle situation.
“Ma Hong Yun… he actually obtained the land spirit’s recognition. Hmph, this kid’s dogshit luck is truly powerful.” Fang Yuan mumbled with a complex expression.
“You know him?” Tai Bai Yun Sheng was somewhat astonished as he had not thought the grand Fang Yuan would actually recognize this rank three initial stage minor character.
“It is you!” Hei Lou Lan quickly sensed the distant Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng; his eyes opened wide as he swiftly jumped back like he was facing a great enemy.
His eyes twitched and his heart had already sunk.
Giant Sun’s will had suddenly disappeared, and the mysterious man impersonating Chang Shan Yin appeared with Gu Immortal Tai Bai Yun Sheng standing beside him, and the two seemed to have a very close relation at that! This was extremely unfavorable to Hei Lou Lan.
Ma Hong Yun, however, did not sense anything. The defensive barrier raised by the land spirit was shrinking constantly as it was attacked by the innumerable treemen. His and Zhao Lian Yun’s sight were blocked by the dense amount of trees and leaves.
“What do we do now?” Tai Bai Yun Sheng asked calmly while casting a glance towards the gloomy Hei Lou Lan.
Fang Yuan sneered: “We need Imperial Court blessed land’s land spirit, Frost Jade Peacock’s strength to topple True Yang Building! Frost Jade Peacock might have already recognized its masters, but because Giant Sun’s will is not present, the seals on it are not being manipulated and it is barely surviving. Most of its strength had already been sealed again. The defensive barrier is also on the brink of collapse and simply won’t be able to block me. I will go kill Ma Hong Yun and Zhao Lian Yun. You go deal with Hei Lou Lan and seize the false emotion fake will Gu, I trust that it won’t be a problem with your Gu Immortal battle strength. Let’s move, we don’t have much time!”
“Immortal and mortal are vastly different, it is just like a wide chasm separates them. You don’t need to worry.” Tai Bai Yun Sheng lightly smiled, moving elegantly towards Hei Lou Lan.
Fang Yuan directly shot forward towards Ma Hong Yun.
The surrounding treemen followed him under his control.
“Such a pity… Ma Hong Yun, I originally wanted to use you as a key to control the events of the future. But who told you to block my way? No matter how good your luck is, your death is certain today!” The brimming killing intent in his heart surfaced as a malevolent smile on Fang Yuan’s face.