Chapter 736

Fang Yuan estimates that replacing delight in water and mountain Immortal Gu under the light of wisdom needs at least two thousand rank five malicious thought Gu, activated together. Every rank from one to five works the same way, differing only in yield and cost. Left to the first stone nest alone, that many would take at least ten years; the second nest cuts the estimate to about sixteen months. Fang Yuan hopes a better recipe can shorten it further. ^{ch. 736}

His wisdom path foundation is nearly nonexistent. Wisdom Gu is the reason he stays confident regardless, letting him deduce Immortal Gu recipes that stumped Lang Ya land spirit. He can deduce an immortal killer move in at most a month with matching attainment, far faster than Vicious Lightning Fiend’s years of closed cultivation drawing Lightning Deity from a remnant recipe. ^{ch. 736}

Fang Yuan is also slowly deducing an immortal killer move of his own, myriad self, whose core cleanse soul Immortal Gu is starving and unusable. His goal is to replace that core, though losing it already drops the move’s power sharply. Only one mortal killer move in Gu Master history has ever matched an Immortal Gu’s power: white bone chariot, made by Proud Bone Demon Lord Shen Jie Ao. Battle Bone Wheel is one of the mortal Gu that move needs, and Fang Yuan holds only the one he took from the battlefield where Wolf King Chang Shan Yin once hid. His own talent cannot match Shen Jie Ao’s. Myriad self will lack its former power without that core. ^{ch. 736}

Over the next half month Fang Yuan pushes on both projects. He sells two more desolate beast corpses in treasure yellow heaven for a second pair of bat desolate beast wings and dozens of immortal essence stones. Three desolate beast corpses remain on sale afterward, and his own stones now total just over twenty. Constant deduction has also worn his green grape immortal essence down to thirty-six beads. ^{ch. 736}

Fang Yuan’s push to improve the recipe succeeds. The result cuts rank five malicious thought Gu from a step-by-step climb through every rank down to two stages, half-finished then complete, with the same success rate but far less material and time. He now expects the project to finish in eight months instead of sixteen, though he may need to slow it and let the second nest refine airsac Gu instead, for guts Gu income. ^{ch. 736}

Just then the news he has been waiting for arrives. Lang Ya land spirit furiously agrees to Fang Yuan’s terms, splitting the profits four to six, since refining Immortal Gu costs him far more than Fang Yuan needs and he has no better option. Fang Yuan does not press further, since the split is already the land spirit’s limit. ^{ch. 736}

In Bai Zu grotto-heaven, the rank eight lone cultivator Heavenly Lord Bai Zu, known for his cooking, hosts Qin Bai Sheng and Fairy Li Shan and serves a dish he spent eight days perfecting. Both praise it, Fairy Li Shan calling the taste a masterpiece. Qin Bai Sheng calls the visit an honor, both for Bai Zu’s promise to attend the auction and for the meal, and Fairy Li Shan, the alliance treaty already signed, asks to take her leave. Bai Zu notes that with himself, Yao Huang, Five Elements Grandmaster, and Old Ancestor Xue Hu already invited, only Prince Feng Xian remains, and Qin Bai Sheng confirms he is next. ^{ch. 736}

Leaving, Qin Bai Sheng and Fairy Li Shan fly southeast until a message from Fang Yuan halts her. She introduces him. Fang Yuan steps from her aperture to greet Qin Bai Sheng. Qin Bai Sheng, a rank seven Gu Immortal whose battle strength matches Shi Lei, cools at first on seeing only a rank six immortal zombie, but stays polite since Fang Yuan came straight from Fairy Li Shan’s aperture. Fang Yuan gives the name Sha Huang and offers a large transaction, selling Gu Immortals’ blessed lands, which turns both listeners pale. ^{ch. 736}

Fairy Li Shan, shocked, asks if he truly has blessed lands to sell. Bound to answer her truthfully under their shared Snowy Mountain Alliance, Fang Yuan says the lands are not his and that he is only running an errand, without adding that his own profit share is larger than the owner’s. ^{ch. 736}

Qin Bai Sheng calms at that. He reasons Fang Yuan must serve some great figure behind the scenes, and agrees outright to include the blessed lands in the auction. He predicts the sale will make this one of the few grand auctions Northern Plains has held in several hundred years. Laughing, he claps the small immortal zombie’s shoulder and asks Fang Yuan to drop formal address and call him brother, though at over seven hundred years he is the older of the two. Fang Yuan agrees, calling him Brother Qin, and Qin Bai Sheng answers with Brother Sha. ^{ch. 736}