Chapter 654

Inside Fang Yuan’s dead and rotting aperture, where he had tricked and suppressed her, Mo Yao’s will awaits questioning. Once a legendary refinement grandmaster, her will carries great value. Despite her scheming nearly costing him his life, Fang Yuan admires rather than hates her. He means to interrogate her, but she proves fully cooperative on refinement path, giving him huge insight. ^{ch. 654}

When he asks about Spirit Affinity House, she first asks for a mirror willow, to ease years of homesickness. Mirror willow leaves feed beggar moths, and Fang Yuan sets one of the trees he bought from Immortal Crane Sect inside his aperture. She grows nostalgic beneath it, then tells his will a great deal of the sect’s inside affairs, warning her knowledge is dated. Fang Yuan’s own understanding of Spirit Affinity House grows greatly. ^{ch. 654}

She notes the tree will rot within three days in his aperture’s death energy, and asks for qingpu tea next time, though she cannot taste it. Fang Yuan’s will snorts that a captive should not keep asking for things. She laughs that fully suppressed and watched she cannot scheme, then warns that force would yield little since he has barely any wisdom path foundation. ^{ch. 654}

Fang Yuan’s will agrees, thanks her for cooperating, tells her she may go on living inside his aperture, and promises the tea. It flies up into his own mind, carrying everything she revealed in an instant. He indeed has no proper way to search a will, since soul searching is easy and will searching hard. ^{ch. 654}

Privately, Fang Yuan judges her a truly formidable person. Her own plan failed utterly, and she could not even self-detonate. Even so, she keeps cooperating to show her value and buy time, hoping to win freedom if his aperture ever shatters or he is captured or killed. That persistence earns his admiration, though he would search her will at once if he had the means. ^{ch. 654}

Fang Yuan wishes he could find a wisdom path inheritance, but knows of none. He does not press her for Red Lotus Demon Venerable’s inheritance, both knowing he cannot force her. ^{ch. 654}

Little Hu Immortal brings Immortal Crane Sect’s quick reply. Fang Yuan had written to probe the sect’s halt on rockmen. Its tone is hard: it demands Fang Yuan open the trade of guts Gu, or it will name him a traitor of the sect and attack Hu Immortal blessed land. ^{ch. 654}

A year earlier, Fang Yuan seized that blessed land using Fixed Immortal Travel. Immortal Crane Sect answered by claiming, through his resemblance to Fang Zheng, that he was a disciple it had secretly raised, which the other nine sects accepted as its victory. Its real plan is to remove those nine competitors first, then deal with Fang Yuan alone and take the blessed land for itself. ^{ch. 654}

Fang Yuan is glad a single sect is easier to fight than all ten, so he plays along with the lie. Hu Immortal blessed land sits safely on Tian Ti mountain against a casual attack, but branding him a traitor would give the sect its pretext. He had expected this over a year before. ^{ch. 654}

Fang Yuan summons Tai Bai Yun Sheng, whose face turns gloomy: Immortal Crane Sect, one of the ten great ancient sects, surpasses northern plains’ super tribes, and the two of them alone cannot stop it. Fang Yuan teases him for answering a question with a question. ^{ch. 654}

Tai Bai Yun Sheng suggests their ally Hei Lou Lan. Even with her Great Strength True Martial Physique and a successful advance to Gu Immortal, Fang Yuan judges the three of them still cannot stop the sect. He then proposes Zombie Alliance instead, but Fang Yuan refuses that too: too loose, far weaker, and likely to claim any benefit for itself. ^{ch. 654}

Noticing his confident smile, Tai Bai Yun Sheng realizes Fang Yuan already has a plan. Fang Yuan admits it: Immortal Crane Sect only claimed him as its disciple out of fear the other nine sects would interfere, a weakness he means to use. His plan is to send Spirit Affinity House a letter, opening their first contact with what Mo Yao’s will had told him. Tai Bai Yun Sheng worries this comes too late, since Spirit Affinity House might hand the letter to Immortal Crane Sect as a gesture of goodwill instead. Fang Yuan answers only that the letter is very special, entirely confident. ^{ch. 654}