Chapter 777

Lang Ya land spirit’s refusal reminds Fang Yuan that land spirits are not to be underestimated. They grow with time. Lang Ya land spirit has suffered minor losses since meeting him, especially a huge loss on the four to six profit split at this auction. It found his weakness in Gu recipes and used it to regain the upper hand, and his own profit from selling Gu Immortal captives is showing its backlash now. ^{ch. 777}

Landing on Dang Hun mountain, Fang Yuan retracts his wings and thinks. All-out effort Gu is only a small setback, since wisdom Gu could deduce the mortal Gu recipe given time he lacks. The real problem is Hei Lou Lan. ^{ch. 777}

Fang Yuan’s price for saving her was self strength Immortal Gu. Hearing this, she jumped up in fury: it is her vital core, central to her self strength phantom killer move, and also her mother Su Xian Er’s memento. ^{ch. 777}

But she, Fang Yuan and Fairy Li Shan share the Snowy Mountain Alliance, and to save her Fairy Li Shan signed the agreement with Fang Yuan in her place. She cannot break it without risking the aunt who raised her at any cost. Fang Yuan built this very leverage into the agreement. ^{ch. 777}

Hei Lou Lan negotiated with him more than ten times. She used threats, pleas and appeals to the bigger picture, but he would not budge. His trump card, the immortal killer move myriad self, is extremely compatible with self strength Immortal Gu, unlike Pulling Mountain or Pulling Water, which needed deduction and changes. Hearing that she had refined it during her own ascension filled him with immense regret and pity. ^{ch. 777}

Immortal Gu are unique, so as her ally he could not obtain that Gu. Her reckless pursuit of revenge led her into a dream realm and gave him his chance. Fang Yuan seized it, since his own strength matters most to him even between allies. In anger, she stalled handing over self strength Immortal Gu and would not use strength qi Immortal Gu to refine airsac Gu for him. ^{ch. 777}

Without her strength qi Gu he has no airsac Gu, and without airsac Gu he cannot sell guts Gu. With two stone nests refining nonstop, his funds have dried to under a hundred immortal essence stones. Deducing a substitute recipe, or building a third or fourth stone nest, both need funds he lacks. It is a deadlock. ^{ch. 777}

Fang Yuan tried to lure Lang Ya land spirit into refining malicious thought Gu with immortal materials, but it refused. It held to its old demand that he enter immemorial purple heaven for petals of the rank six immortal material poisonous flowers. That route closed too. Restricted airsac Gu meant no funds and no use of the light of wisdom, greatly slowing his whole plan to absorb his gains. ^{ch. 777}

Aware that Hei Lou Lan wants strength qi Gu accepted instead, Fang Yuan resolves to outlast her. He summons Hu Immortal land spirit and returns to Dang Hun palace. Unraveling her dream earlier used up much of his dream path mortal Gu, which he must now refine more of. ^{ch. 777}

At the same time, in Northern Plains, Ancient Soul Sect’s Old Oracle walks out of a secret hideout, exhausted from deducing the culprit behind True Yang Building’s collapse. He tells the immortals gathered there that his attainment fell short, though in truth he had made a huge breakthrough that Feng Jiu Ge ordered concealed. Feng Jiu Ge sends everyone to their own private missions while still gathering information. His reputation is highest among them, so none question him. ^{ch. 777}

Alone with Old Oracle, Feng Jiu Ge explains: the culprit is most likely from Central Continent’s ten great sects, and letting the others act freely means a mistake in concealing it would expose them. Worried his deduction could be wrong, Old Oracle is told that clues are bound to surface if it really is a traitor among the ten sects. He asks if Feng Jiu Ge suspects Ancient Soul Sect too. Feng Jiu Ge laughs, admits he has long been suspicious, and sends him off, certain Ancient Soul Sect gave him secret missions of its own. Old Oracle’s heart shakes; he agrees and vanishes into the sky like lightning, leaving Feng Jiu Ge alone. ^{ch. 777}