Chapter 1189

Fang Yuan’s showing goes slightly overboard, a small mistake, and Not Immortal, warmer now, wants to move on and set the agreement, his opinion of Fang Yuan risen. Still faking difficulty, Fang Yuan reaches a rock that speaks and becomes Secret Schemer, one of the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics, a short, skinny wisdom path Gu Immortal no taller than his knee, with a goatee and tiny shining eyes. Chu Du makes the introduction, and Fang Yuan, recognizing the name, hides it and introduces himself as Liu Guan Yi of transformation path. A day later, Not Immortal presses them to stay, but Chu Du refuses: he has just formed Chu Sect and allied it with Bai Zu tribe, and the righteous path is turning against them. Not Immortal answers that fame does not outlast death, citing the Legends of Ren Zu, where Verdant Great Sun’s soul lingered at pacifying soul lake once reputation Gu left him. Only eternal life, he says, is worth a Gu Immortal’s pursuit. ^{ch. 1189}

Chu Du reveals, for the first time, that he means to make strength path flourish, a promise to someone; Fang Yuan senses a story behind it. Not Immortal asks Fang Yuan to stay too, but Fang Yuan says the agreement is signed and he has other matters. Privately he could move freely through the whole third last layer, but showing it would shock the Eccentrics too badly to risk. Derivation Gu, a rank nine Immortal Gu, waits at the bottom layer under the Eccentrics’ guard, so he cannot go for it alone, somewhat of a pity. Even obtaining it would only be a huge burden, as wisdom Gu once was. He has not seen the bottom or second last layers, and will return to explore only after raising his cultivation level. Pressed on how long he needs, Fang Yuan cites Huang Jin attacks on Chu Sect, an excuse Chu Du sees through but is warmed by, and Not Immortal gives up. ^{ch. 1189}

Fang Yuan and Chu Du fly off, their bond deepened. Chu Du admits the alliance faces an enemy tens or hundreds of times their strength, but the disunited Huang Jin tribes, who talk of rules and reputation, leave Chu Sect a chance, with any attack still far off. Chu Du, deducing from the dao marks that Fang Yuan’s transformation path is at least quasi-great grandmaster, credits his own leap in strength path for shocking Not Immortal. He then fishes vaguely for Fang Yuan’s killer move immortal tribulation tempering aperture, having used calamity beckoning Immortal Gu to try to gain some benefit, but Fang Yuan keeps the method that draws out Reckless Savage’s true meaning secret. Chu Du understands at once he has been refused, and though disappointed, stays rational rather than strain a partnership he still needs. ^{ch. 1189}

Fang Yuan parts from Chu Du, flying southwest to a mound confirmed, by Xue Song Zi’s memories, as the right place. Using an Immortal Gu and killer move borrowed at great cost from Heavenly Lord Bai Zu, worth the price, he locates a blessed land and enters on the upper extreme heavenly eagle. Its dead owner cultivated earth path, leaving black rotten mud where small mud monsters roll. Ownership requires defeating five desolate beast mud monsters together, hard for most rank sixes but simple at his master-level earth path attainment. He annexes it, and his Mini Western Desert gains a huge swamp. ^{ch. 1189}

Over the following month the eagle proves of immense value. It lets him range widely through blessed land after blessed land, their locations drawn from his many Gu Immortal captives, soul searched many times. These include Dong Fang Chang Fan, Zheng Ling, Xue Song Zi, Hei Fan grotto-heaven’s nine, turbulent flow sea area souls, and Hei Cheng, who is alive. His cultivation level rises tremendously as he skips calamities and tribulations again and again, the sovereign immortal aperture gaining space and resources each time. By the time he returns to Lang Ya blessed land he has passed two heavenly tribulations, a rank six Gu Immortal now only three earthly calamities from his third. ^{ch. 1189}