Chapter 1226

Fang Yuan wakes in his own bed inside the defensive Gu formation that Southern Border’s righteous path built together, judging it very safe though he stays vigilant. Entering his own dream realm, he gathers materials enough for five or six dream path mortal Gu, where one dream used to yield only one or two, a gain from his improving dream path and his soul’s own growth. Exploring a dream realm wears down the soul: the stronger it is, the longer one can stay and the more backlash one can endure, but a strong soul alone cannot steer a course through it. Only dream path, at this stage, can supply that direction. ^{ch. 1226}

Any path, once it reaches high enough attainment, can eventually mimic another’s effects, though the imitator needs high attainment in the path being copied. But dream path itself is still very far from being formed. Countless water path Gu worms existed across the Immemorial Antiquity Era, the Remote Antiquity Era and the Olden Antiquity Era, but only in the Medieval Antiquity Era did Spirit Affinity House’s founder, Shui Ni, finally settle and formally create water path. ^{ch. 1226}

The five regions know the dream realm’s worth but cannot profit from it. Southern Border’s own Gu Immortals suffered massive casualties exploring it, so its righteous path slowed down and grew wary, and the immortal opportunity business was born. Fang Yuan reasons a safely explored dream realm would never be ceded to the demonic and lone immortals. The trade also benefits Gu Immortals and eases tension between the three paths, since demonic and lone immortals might otherwise unite as in the battle of Yi Tian Mountain or Northern Plains’ blood battle martial competition. Fang Yuan wants stability above all for his own dream realm work here, so the trade has to continue. It was the idea of the previous rank seven Wu clan Gu Immortal, astute enough to see the need, and Fang Yuan, stronger, had his brother send that Gu Immortal elsewhere once he arrived. ^{ch. 1226}

He cannot join openly, since the trade is not shared evenly. Wu clan and six other clans profit while the rest do not, and exposure would bring severe punishment under the righteous path’s own rule. Once exposed, neither his two Immortal Gu nor his standing as Wu Yong’s brother could keep him here. Wu Yong’s favor is conditional, so only holding those Gu without error makes him less likely to be moved elsewhere. ^{ch. 1226}

So he recruits Lady White Rabbit as a scapegoat should the business ever be exposed, giving her his own share of the profits since the righteous path cannot simply take every benefit that comes its way. He reads this politics from five hundred years of a past life spent in the righteous path, the demonic path and as a lone cultivator. Refusing her and Wu An outright would be worse. It would cost Fang Yuan six clans of allies just as he arrives. Ba clan, Tie clan and Shang clan, who take no part in the business, are already watching him greedily. ^{ch. 1226}

As it stands the business continues, and if exposure comes later he means to push Lady White Rabbit into the open and claim he never knew. Giving up his own cut costs him nothing, since the sovereign immortal aperture already gives him resources that would shame most rank seven Gu Immortals. He resolves to begin exploring dream realms openly from here on. In Northern Plains, the blood battle martial competition nears its end, Heavenly Lord Bai Zu and Yao Huang never appearing though their influence still shapes it heavily. Chu Du, his position worsening and nobody left to send, watches Hao Zhen lose, his left arm severed and the dao marked wounds too deep to heal easily, and sighs that Northern Plains’ righteous path runs deep. ^{ch. 1226}

Hao Zhen names a friend stronger than himself, a secluded cultivator with little fame. He warns that this friend cultivates blood path. Chu Du, intrigued at first, refuses at once, since a blood path Gu Immortal counts as demonic path. Fielding one in a competition meant only for righteous path forces would let rivals brand his own side as demonic and undo all his effort. ^{ch. 1226}