Chapter 743

Black oil matters even more to immortal zombies, Fang Yuan reasons, since it slows a dying blessed land’s shrinking, and his own blessed land is losing space the same way. Zombie Alliance sells only a fixed, scarce amount each year, a seller’s market Fang Yuan cannot break into from outside. He resolves to work from inside the alliance instead. He keeps the black oil mission in mind for that reason. ^{ch. 743}

Sitting through the day long conference, Fang Yuan gauges Zombie Alliance’s place in Northern Plains: slightly below the super forces, tacitly suppressed by the righteous path, easier with demonic path Gu Immortals such as Snowy Mountain blessed land. Its higher ranks are all immortal zombies hoping to revive, which pushes it toward methods the righteous path avoids. Membership tops twenty immortal zombies, more than Snowy Mountain holds. Entry stays easy, so the alliance remains loose and easy for outsiders to extort. ^{ch. 743}

After the meeting, Fang Yuan leaves a malicious will behind and follows Gu Ye to collect his own Zombie Alliance token, which records his identity and contributions. With it comes a set of information path mortal Gu that relays task news, membership changes, and deaths. Gu Ye means to part ways. Fang Yuan keeps him talking instead, probing for more. ^{ch. 743}

His questions turn to the alliance leader, Blazing Heaven Demoness, a tyrannical rank eight immortal zombie whose battle strength stands out even among the rest. Her lifespan had not run out, but she turned herself into a zombie on purpose, purely to break through, unlike most immortal zombies, who have no other choice. Choosing it freely marks her breakthrough as extreme. Gu Ye lowers his voice to add a rumor that she may already hold a method to revive. Fang Yuan only smiles, guessing she likely planned her own way back too. ^{ch. 743}

Between this and what Fairy Li Shan already told him, Fang Yuan rounds out a picture of the alliance, and Gu Ye bids him farewell. Before leaving, Fang Yuan studies the guarded gully entrance to Earth Trench with hundred li eye, watched in shifts by three rank seven immortal zombies, Yin Liu Gong, Dragon Commander Ye Cha, and Huang Quan Weng. It widens far deeper in, vast enough to hold countless such cities, its true depths still unexplored. He means to explore it himself one day, but not yet. ^{ch. 743}

He leaves the city like a great bird. Far off and sure of no pursuers, he lands in a hidden forest and triggers Fixed Immortal Travel back to Hu Immortal blessed land. Awaiting word from Fairy Li Shan, he studies Harboring Malicious Heart, a wisdom path move that fills a heart with wisdom path dao marks so blood essence spawns malicious wills on its own, at less cost to think with. It suits a living Gu Immortal, not a dead one. His heart already holds strength path dao marks, and his dead body cannot nourish a will with blood essence, so even the change itself is an enormous barrier. Its workings still echo poison breath closely enough that he means to test the shared principle with wisdom Gu instead. ^{ch. 743}

Elsewhere, at Feng Xian grotto-heaven, rank eight Prince Feng Xian grants Fairy Li Shan and Qin Bai Sheng leave to go, praising their event for heading off fights and massacres. He has many Immortal Gu off his own path to trade at the sale. Fairy Li Shan calls his own absence a regret for the whole region. Work on an Immortal Gu had forced him to step back from managing his aperture’s heaven and earth qi, he explains, and he cannot leave at this crucial point, though he will send someone in his place. ^{ch. 743}

Two rank six female Gu Immortals attend him, and at his word the cool one, Swordmaster You Lan, a famous sword path grandmaster, leads the guests out in silence and back into Northern Plains. Qin Bai Sheng defers despite outranking her, mindful of the rank eight power behind her. Once outside, she seals the entrance, leaving no trace of it in the sky. Fairy Li Shan reports that all five rank eight powers are now visited and bound by mountain pledge Gu, making the auction certain. Qin Bai Sheng credits her Gu for it and hands over an Immortal Gu as the agreed payment, in advance of the sale. Fairy Li Shan, used to dealing with all sorts of Gu Immortals, is still moved, and admires his conduct. ^{ch. 743}