Chapter 653

Bathing again in the light of wisdom, Fang Yuan takes stock of himself. Despite his five hundred years of past life experience, he still pales beside old monsters like Mo Yao and Giant Sun. Without Mo Yao’s will interfering, this trip would not have run so far past his original plan. He traces his losses to wisdom path, where Mo Yao’s will could still disturb his scheming. ^{ch. 653}

He is the chief cause behind Eighty-Eight True Yang Building’s fall. Capture now would be unimaginable. Hu Immortal blessed land offers no true safety, since Immortal Crane Sect already eyes Dang Hun Mountain and other Gu Immortals might trace him by wisdom path deduction, so only striking first can save him. He recalls Dark Limit Immortal Gu, which conceals aura and blocks calculation, and believes it could avert the danger. ^{ch. 653}

Fang Yuan thinks of Hei Lou Lan, no minor figure: ruthless and pragmatic, she betrayed her own ancestor and sought her father’s death, plain marks of a demonic nature. She holds the Great Strength True Martial Physique and a strength path Immortal Gu. Fixed Immortal Travel, too, is something he wants. ^{ch. 653}

His stored wills run low. Fang Yuan retreats from the light to refill his mind using mortal Gu instead of the rank six wisdom path Immortal Gu, Delight in Water and Mountain. An Immortal Gu would produce far more will, but each use spends green grape immortal essence he cannot replace, and only nineteen beads remain. He saves them for true necessity. ^{ch. 653}

Turning his thoughts on himself, Fang Yuan names two problems. The first is how to restore his human body, since yin-yang rotation Gu is only rank four and cannot help an immortal zombie. The second is that he is already bankrupt. ^{ch. 653}

He had poured nearly all his savings into the northern plains trip, and his expenses now outrun his income. He owns not a single immortal essence stone. Even Hu Immortal blessed land has grown barren, its fox and wolf groups and most of its hairy men sold off. His rockman slave trade, a strong economic pillar, collapsed once Immortal Crane Sect halted the transactions, leaving him no way back into that market. ^{ch. 653}

Three days later, in a hall inside Dang Hun Palace, Fang Yuan sits in the main seat while Tai Bai Yun Sheng holds a rank five messenger dove Gu. Its contents are fabricated by Fang Yuan himself. So is the master’s title, Purple Mountain True Monarch, and the six legacy disciples he claims as fellow students. The letter criticizes Fang Yuan for greed, ignoring advice, and rashly opening the Di Qiu inheritance that led to Mo Yao’s will. Master wants him to solve the crisis alone, though he may keep everything won in northern plains. Tai Bai Yun Sheng sighs that master will not help and means this as a test. ^{ch. 653}

Tai Bai Yun Sheng recalls being told master took six legacy disciples with Fang Yuan ranked fifth, and asks whether the other five might help. Fang Yuan refuses: he barely knows of them, and since this is his own test, asking anyone else would defeat its purpose. Tai Bai Yun Sheng vows to help regardless. He asks what Fang Yuan means to do. ^{ch. 653}

Fang Yuan answers that master’s letter told him to join Zombie Alliance. It is an alliance of zombies, said to date to the Medieval Antiquity Era three hundred thousand years ago, spanning five regions with a seat in eastern sea and branches elsewhere. Almost all its members are zombies, its higher ups immortal zombies like himself, mostly Gu Immortals with no choice but to become zombies once their lifespan ended. Their dead apertures make no essence and draw no qi, and their blessed lands shrink over time, so their battle strength usually falls below an ordinary Gu Immortal’s. Its branches sit weaker than each region’s own super forces, though the eastern sea headquarters stands a level above the native power there. ^{ch. 653}

Fang Yuan guesses master’s true purpose: an immortal zombie who later obtains lifespan Gu would want to resurrect, and mutual research into regaining a living body was one founding aim of the alliance, research that should have advanced by now. Joining is simple, needing only proof of immortal zombie status, since the alliance is starved for members. He means to join the northern plains branch, but first they must wait for someone. Tai Bai Yun Sheng names Hei Lou Lan, and Fang Yuan nods. He has kept almost nothing of his plans from Tai Bai Yun Sheng, since he will still need his strength ahead. ^{ch. 653}