Chapter 852

Fang Yuan finds a crystal palace at broken star lake’s bottom. Wan Xiang once cultivated there, and the palace holds his Immortal Gu, among them a centipede-shaped Star Mark, rank six, able to temporarily add six hundred star path dao marks to its wearer. ^{ch. 852}

Fang Yuan is startled: his own dao marks number under two hundred. Two hundred marks give a twenty percent power gain and six hundred give sixty percent, but he is no star path Gu Immortal, though wearing them lets him pass as one. ^{ch. 852}

Two more Immortal Gu sit there, a crystal and a bean sprout. The land spirit names them starlight Immortal Gu and Star Shoot, which Fang Yuan judges more useful to him than Star Mark. ^{ch. 852}

Starlight mortal Gu is needed for the wisdom path star thought Gu. Holding starlight Immortal Gu lets him refine it faster, at greater scale, with less risk and fewer hairy men lost. Using it costs him only a modified recipe and spent immortal essence, both easily afforded now that his earnings will quadruple. ^{ch. 852}

He had long depended on Wan Xiang’s mortal killer move spring star rain. It largely sustained Hu Immortal blessed land’s sky grassland but consumed star shoot mortal Gu only Wan Xiang sold, a dependence his wisdom Gu could never break. With Star Shoot Immortal Gu he can now use the move freely and raise it to immortal grade. The land spirit reveals Wan Xiang’s sold version was a simplified copy refined top-down from this same Immortal Gu, which is why Fang Yuan could never reverse the recipe. ^{ch. 852}

These three are all that remain of Wan Xiang’s four Immortal Gu. Star Mark, starlight and Star Shoot survive; the fourth was destroyed fighting Song Zi Xing, and Fang Yuan is well satisfied, since few rank six Gu Immortals anywhere own Immortal Gu at all. ^{ch. 852}

He already owns fourteen more Immortal Gu. They include a rank nine wisdom Gu, though even killing an enemy rarely yields their Immortal Gu: Dong Fang Chang Fan self-detonated all of his despite Fang Yuan capturing his soul alive. Wan Xiang was the exception, dying unreactingly in Star Constellation Immortal Venerable’s dream realm and simply leaving his three behind. ^{ch. 852}

The land spirit hands over Wan Xiang’s star path inheritance, his first fortuitous encounter, which guided him to rank six. His second was Starry Sky grotto-heaven’s entrance, star path like his own cultivation and so well suited to him. Wan Xiang died in the end. Everything he built now belongs to Fang Yuan. ^{ch. 852}

Fang Yuan spends a full day in Star Form blessed land. He inspects a small rockman tribe and three spinefin star dragonfish captured from Starry Sky grotto-heaven. They are kept to feed Star Mark on dragonfish meat, starlight Immortal Gu on rockmen, and Star Shoot on the dark star kelp broken star lake grows in plenty. ^{ch. 852}

Gu Immortals normally raise their own Immortal Gu’s food. Their Immortal Gu and aperture marks share one path, but Fang Yuan’s Immortal Gu span too many paths for his dead strength path aperture and enslavement path blessed land to support. Cleanse soul Immortal Gu still goes improperly fed, and he lacks the soul path marks to raise white lotus giant silkworm Gu at all. ^{ch. 852}

Owning Star Form blessed land doubles Fang Yuan’s strength. Absorbing it fully will still take time. He has the land spirit fake a request for ownership recognition, and hides the truth from Hei Lou Lan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng, since the blessed land, whose location only she knows, would be a vital refuge if he ever became a fugitive. He leaves Dang Hun Mountain’s recently invested resources in place, wary of tipping off the astute Hei Lou Lan. ^{ch. 852}

The next day he attends the Refinement Path Convention. News of the ten sects’ failed ambush on Song Zi Xing stays confined to Gu Immortal level, as many Gu Immortals search True Yang mountain range in vain. In his previous life over a hundred years of searching by all ten sects still failed, since Song Zi Xing’s gift for hiding matches no one, and Fang Yuan has never meant to chase him. ^{ch. 852}

The agreed date for his duel with Feng Jin Huang arrives. It draws a crowd though it is not a formal match. Fang Yuan demands to see her wager first, wanting only a top six finish for the Infallible inheritance regardless of outcome. Feng Jin Huang secretly promises her wager, a method to revive him from immortal zombie status, will interest him deeply. ^{ch. 852}