Chapter 1973 Going After Fang Yuan
After the qi tide passed, clouds were sparse in the sky, it was a refreshing sight.
A yellow cloud flew high in the sky, sprinkling light sand behind it along the way.
There was a female immortal sitting on the yellow cloud. She had a corpulent body, her belly was bulging, her entire body resembled a water vat, she was a member of Mo clan, a super force in Western Desert. There was a title for her in Western Desert's Gu Immortal world — Plump Lady.
Plump Lady did not dislike this title at all. She felt beautiful for being fat, and upon learning of this title, she liked it so much that she publicly called herself this from then on. In time, even her original name was forgotten in place of this title.
"Huh?" As the yellow cloud flew, Plump Lady suddenly had a change of expression, sensing something unusual.
Thus, the yellow cloud slightly contracted and flew down diagonally, changing its course slightly before suspending in mid-air.
Plump Lady stood up from the yellow cloud and looked down at the giant pit beneath her feet.
This giant pit was partially hidden by the wind blowing yellow sand and covering it, but Plump Lady was a native of Western Desert, she was all too familiar with the landscape of the sand pit.
"This isn't a naturally formed sand pit, but rather an empty space left behind after something in it was drawn away."
"This aura… it's the aura of an ancient desolate plant!"
Plump Lady's eyes shined with bright light, she immediately understood: a Gu Immortal had secretly made a move to steal an ancient desolate plant from here.
Plump Lady snorted coldly as anger rose in her heart. Although she did not know what this ancient desolate plant was, this place was wolf desert, the territory of Mo clan. Stealing this ancient desolate plant was the same as stealing the Mo clan.
"This ancient desolate plant must be quite valuable since it is able to hide and conceal itself from the detection of our clan. I'm afraid that it has already been discovered by some people long ago but they just did not take it. Now that qi tides is causing disasters, this person who stole the ancient desolate plant must have been worried that they would endanger this ancient desolate plant, and that's why they took it."
Plump Lady secretly analyzed the scene and carefully examined it.
The thief's actions were very clean, no obvious clues were left behind. Feeling disappointed, she had to use an information path Gu worm to inform the Mo clan, hoping that the clan would send good investigators to track down and capture this damned thief!
And finally, Plump Lady used information path Gu worms to record the scene before leaving. She had a mission right now, she could not waste time here.
As she flew along, she saw an oasis. The oasis was vast, and there was a stone city at the center. The city walls were short, but the overall length was long, there were a huge number of mortals living in the city, it was Sand Wolf City.
Sand Wolf City was one of the main cities of Mo clan.
Plump Lady did not cover her tracks and flew directly from high in the sky to the City Lord Manor.
There were already people at the City Lord Manor who were ready to receive her, when they saw the arrival of Plump Lady, they all fell to their knees and shouted: "We pay our respects to revered immortal!"
"Get up." Plump Lady stored the yellow cloud and stepped on the ground in front of everyone.
"Revered immortal, the arrival banquet has been prepared. It contains the best wine and delicacies of Sand Wolf City, as well as fresh fruits that were just picked today." The city lord spoke.
Plump Lady, however, waved her hand, she was not interested, she only said: "Prepare a secret room for me to undergo closed cultivation. Also, I asked you to gather Gu Masters with aptitude and loyalty, how is it going?"
"It's almost done. The vast majority of the city's Gu Masters have already been screened." The city lord replied quickly.
"Very well. After three days, I will take them away. Now, you can go and attend to your own matters."
"Yes, I will do my best to complete this task to the best of my ability." The city lord promised in succession.
The door of the secret room closed slowly, Plump Lady activated the formation here with a wave of her hand.
She looked exhausted as her divine sense probed into her immortal aperture, when she saw the scene inside the immortal aperture, she inevitably let out another deep sigh.
Her immortal aperture was originally a land of yellow sand and it was flat. At the heart of the desert, Plump Lady had carefully laid out more than six thousand acres of sand farms.
Her sand farms mainly produced two types of immortal materials, they were light sand and cold-warm flowing sand. They were the main sources of goods that Plump Lady produced for a long time.
But after the fate war, Plump Lady absorbed five heaven path dao marks, her immortal aperture started to change. The landscape became uneven, more and more sand dunes were created. Furthermore, there was a trench, as if a knife had come straight down across the center of the desert, splitting the entire desert, thousands of acres of sand farms were lost.
"I don't have wisdom path methods to make deductions and restrain this kind of natural development. Unless I hire a wisdom path Gu Immortal to take action, but my assets are not enough, I can't afford it. I might as well save this expense in case of future mishaps." Plump Lady lamented in her heart.
Mo clan had Gu Immortals that cultivated wisdom path, but they were not close to Plump Lady. In fact, even if the relationship was close, the wisdom path deductions would still cost Immortal essence, they could not work for Plump Lady for nothing, right? Therefore, there had to be a reward.
"Furthermore, I recently absorbed heaven and earth qi, my immortal aperture is unstable."
Right now, the five regional walls were gone, the five regions' heaven and earth qi had no obstruction and started to fuse. Western Desert's heaven and earth qi was changing gradually, this caused the foundation of Western Desert Gu Immortals' immortal apertures to start differing from the heaven and earth qi of the outer world.
When Gu Immortals absorb this heaven and earth qi, their immortal aperture would be unstable, there would be tremors.
The best way to deal with it was to cooperate with the change and continue absorbing and releasing heaven and earth qi. If one keeps themselves in closed cultivation, after the heaven and earth qi changes drastically, when they open the immortal aperture entrance to absorb heaven and earth qi, the tremors would be huge, the immortal aperture would suffer even more damage.
"If I had qi path attainment, I would be able to reduce the losses caused by the heaven and earth qi to a great extent."
Wisdom path was a difficult path while qi path had been declining for years, there were few qi path Gu Immortals left.
Plump Lady was only having dreams that were not realistic. In the end, she consoled herself: Even though she did not have wisdom path or qi path methods, other Gu Immortals were like her. Thus, she was not left behind in the dust by the majority of them.
But Plump Lady still felt intense danger in her heart.
This was something that all of the five regions' Gu Immortals were feeling.
The five regions were unified, everyone knew that life was no longer going to be peaceful anymore. Be they lone cultivators or super forces, they were making preparations for the huge battles in the future.
This time, Plump Lady was tasked to go to Sand Wolf City and bring back Gu Immortal seeds for Mo clan to nurture.
In fact, Mo clan or Western Desert were not the only ones, all of the forces in the five regions and two heavens were making preparations now.
In the past, the five regions and two heavens were quite peaceful, super forces nurtured Gu Immortals while considering the provision of resources and their storage.
But now, everyone was preparing for war, they were going to mobilize these resources!
Thus, all of the forces focused on nurturing Gu Immortals than keeping resources. There was a common view: If they did not nurture enough Gu Immortals, their enemies would get all of their resources if they were wiped out in the future. If they did not use up those resources beforehand, that would be too wasteful.
Plump Lady looked at her sand farms in the immortal aperture while feeling heartache. She could not discard these farms, they were her only sources of revenue, they were her biggest financial support pillar.
Plump Lady had to preserve them.
The future was uncertain, she did not know how long the qi tides would continue, but she had to salvage them regardless.
"In the current world, I'm afraid only Fang Yuan will know how long these qi tides would last, he has Spring Autumn Cicada and can rebirth from the future after all." Plump Lady felt deep envy and admiration regarding this.
Plump Lady rebuilt the sand farms in her immortal aperture, fixing the Gu formations inside.
The area where the Earth Trench appeared could not be fixed. Thus, her six thousand acre sand farm was split into two.
"If only I had an immortal Gu formation." Plump Lady felt a bit of regret, Mo clan also had formation path Gu Immortals, when she created the sand farm, Mo clan's formation path Gu Immortal had asked her if she needed help.
But Plump Lady rejected him.
On one hand, she did not want to expose her immortal aperture, on the other hand, she wanted to save cost.
After all, creating an immortal formation would use one of her Immortal Gu as the core. Plump Lady only had two rank six Immortal Gu herself.
Also, the payment of hiring the formation path Gu Immortal was not cheap.
"If I had created an immortal formation back then, my losses would be much lower. Sigh, how can anyone expect their own immortal aperture to be unsafe?"
Plump Lady thought of this and felt some envy towards the formation path Gu Immortal. During this period of time, he had been extremely popular with everyone, they were looking for him to create immortal Gu formations around their immortal aperture's resource points to protect them.
Plump Lady felt a little bitterness towards the earth path she cultivated, earth path was skilled at changing terrain, but Western Desert had the most number of earth path Gu Immortals. Plump Lady's earth path inheritance was also quite ordinary.
As for cultivating a second path?
Plump Lady did not even dare to think about such an absurd idea.
She was already facing problems cultivating just earth path in terms of time and finances.
Trying to juggle another path was courting death!
Moreover, only those rare and exceptional inheritances could allow one to dual cultivate. For example, an inheritance left by Thunder Ghost True Monarch or Duke Long.
After repairing her immortal aperture's sand farm, Plump Lady still had to buy some fertile sand.
Sand farms nurtured sand using sand, without enough sand-type immortal materials, the production would fall greatly.
Plump Lady took out her Gu worms and connected to treasure yellow heaven.
Treasure yellow heaven had all sorts of news, a large number of wills were conversing as they interacted.
Because of the huge change in the world, Gu Immortals could not move around now, on one hand, they had to absorb and release heaven and earth qi continuously to adapt to the main world, on the other hand, they also had to take care of their immortal apertures and repair them continuously like Plump Lady. Cases like Zhao Lian Yun who ignored the damage caused were quite rare.
Thus, Gu Immortals needed immortal materials or the help of Gu Immortals of other paths, treasure yellow heaven became a very popular destination for them.
"Another qi tide happened over here, a lot of deaths occurred."
"When are these qi tides going to end! Damn it, my fisheries have all been destroyed."
"I hate the fact that we cannot move around, the stronger the immortal aperture foundation, the longer we need to adapt to the heaven and earth qi and keep up with the five regions' transformation."
The Gu Immortals sighed as they talked about the news of these qi tides.
Other than that, there was Fang Yuan's arrest warrant!
A mysterious force described Fang Yuan's circumstances, they were willing to pay a huge sum for his latest information.
Fang Yuan had the sovereign immortal aperture, his sovereign immortal body had non-conflicting dao marks. More terrifyingly, he could annex people's apertures to skip calamities and tribulations, increasing his cultivation level. But now, Fang Yuan obtained too many heaven path dao marks, his strength had hit an all-time low. Whoever discovered his location would get a huge reward!
The sovereign immortal fetus Gu's secret was completely exposed, this was not Heavenly Court's doing. Fairy Zi Wei and Old Man Zheng Yuan had released the arrest warrant due to Spectral Soul's orders.
"Too strong! This sovereign immortal body is too terrifying, it can cultivate all paths."
"I finally understand why Fang Yuan's cultivation level rose so quickly! In the blink of an eye, he became a rank eight great expert."
"Who can have such a great fortuitous encounter?"
"Why does heaven favor this otherworldly demon! If I had his fortuitous encounters, I could achieve such great accomplishments as well."
The Gu Immortals were filled with jealousy and hatred.
"We cannot let him grow further, he can annex apertures, he is the enemy of all Gu Immortals."
"Let those experts handle him. I am just a minor character, why would I ever encounter Fang Yuan?"
"The reward is a huge amount of immortal materials, I wonder which lucky person will get them."
"Lucky person? Exposing the great demon Fang Yuan's location would be offending him, you call that lucky? We have all seen Fang Yuan's battle strength ourselves, even if he is at his weakest, how weak can that be? No matter how weak a person is, killing an ant is extremely easy regardless. Even if I find his location, I will not dare to expose him."
Plump Lady heard these discussions, she felt conflicting emotions within her.
The information had been released in treasure yellow heaven several days ago. It had received huge attention, it was the hot topic currently, without showing signs of dying down.
Everyone in the world had seen the fate war. Fang Yuan's performance was shockingly terrifying. The world knew about his pseudo venerable battle strength, the title of the number one demon in the world belonged to him, nobody dared to contest this!
"Hopefully, I never meet such a person in my life. No matter how fat I am, my size cannot compare to such a huge demon. If I get involved in his matters, I will die without doubt."
Plump Lady was quite aware of her situation, she was only enjoying the show as a spectator.
But she did not know that she had once fought against Fang Yuan. In fact, the ancient desolate plant that was stolen earlier was taken by Fang Yuan!
While Plump Lady entered closed cultivation, two figures in sorry states supported each other as they moved towards Sand Wolf City step by step.
The city guards did not chase them away, they could tell that these two were Gu Masters.
The guard walked towards them and extended his hand: "Entry fee of one primeval stone per person."
"There's still an entry fee?" One of the downcast Gu Masters started with wide eyes, he was Peng Da.
The middle aged Gu Master that he was supporting was naturally Mo Li.
The two of them were saved by the air currents generated when Fang Yuan took the thousand wish tree, after exerting effort, they finally reached Sand Wolf City.
"I have them." Mo Li was already prepared, he took out two primeval stones and handed them to the guard.
Peng Da took a look at these two primeval stones.
Along the way, he was taught by Mo Li, he could now inspect his aperture, he found that he had three Gu worms. He even understood the value of primeval stones, it was used as currency but also as a way to replenish a Gu Master's precious primeval essence!
"Two primeval stones to enter a city." Peng Da sighed: "Uncle Mo Li, I will return this sum to you."
Mo Li patted his shoulder: "Let's go kid. No matter how poor I am, I can still afford this fee. During this period, you should stay at my home, you are penniless and have no memory of this city, how can you live alone?"
Mo Li had guided Peng Da along the way, after finding that he knew nothing about Gu Master cultivation, he believed the words that he was amnesiac.
"Uncle, thank you so much. You saved my life and even helped me this much…"
"Don't say that!" Mo Li interrupted Peng Da and brought him into the city.
Mo Li's house was at the central area of Sand Wolf City, it was a huge house with a garden that had flowers growing in it.
"I am back!" Mo Li knocked on the door as his wife opened the door.
"You are finally back!" Mo Li's wife was a rank two Gu Master, seeing her husband, she was happy and surprised: "I heard the qi tide appeared, I thought you…"
"I was lucky and lived, but my caravan is completely ruined, only the two of us survived. Sigh!" Mo Li sighed deeply.
"Being alive is the greatest blessing!" Mo Li's wife turned her eyes.
"Auntie." Peng Da greeted after their conversation.
Mo Li's wife chuckled: "Little lad, thank you for taking care of my husband along the way."
Peng Da's face turned red as he said: "I am ashamed, it was uncle who took care of me during this journey, without his help, I would have died in the desert."
"As travelers outside, helping each other is necessary. Quickly come in." Mo Li's wife was very welcoming.
Mo Li and Peng Da had a rough journey, but they were finally safe now.
After showering in Mo Li's house, the two of them went to bed and fell sound asleep.
After sleeping from noon to night time, Peng Da was woken up by Mo Li for a scrumptious dinner.
After dinner, Mo Li said to his wife: "We still have some money left, even though my caravan was destroyed, as long as I am alive, I can rebuild a new caravan!"
But his wife had a hesitant look: "I haven't told you this, I was hesitating, thankfully, you returned alive."
"What is it?" Mo Li was curious as he asked.
"After you left, the city lord sent orders that they would select Gu Masters that had A grade aptitude and were loyal to Mo clan. Supposedly, this is an order from the higher-ups, they want to nurture Gu Masters to become Gu Immortals."
"Oh? There is such a thing?" Mo Li hesitated: "The city lord put up a public notice? I went past the city gates quickly, I did not see it."
Mo Li's wife continued: "Our son heard the news and wanted to sign up."
Mo Li laughed unconsciously: "To think our son would have such aspirations, but he only has B grade aptitude."
Mo Li's wife laughed: "Aptitude is not too important, loyalty to Mo clan is most important. If we show enough loyalty, our son might be selected."
Mo Li realized at once, asking:" How much?"
Mo Li's wife said a number, Peng Da's mouth became wide open.
Mo Li's wife was very troubled: "Even if we use all our remaining savings, it will not be enough. Husband, the decision is up to you."
Mo Li was silent for a moment before he resolved himself: "I will borrow! It is rare that our son is no longer lazy and wants to improve himself, this is a good thing. I will go and borrow shamelessly, I am sure we will gather enough funds."
"Husband…" Mo Li's wife was touched but felt worried as well: "But our caravan was destroyed, I am afraid…"
Mo Li smiled as he patted his chest, feeling confident: "Don't worry, I am a rank three Gu Master, my body is strong and my strength is intact. Everyone knows that I only need time, as long as my luck is not bad, I can recover from this loss!"