Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Establishing Connections
"Rank 7 Beast Enslavement Gu..."
Vicious Lightning Fiend sucked in a deep breath of air. If Fang Yuan had pulled out a rank 6 Beast Enslavement Gu, he wouldn't be too surprised, but rank 7? Just like Gu immortals, Gu worms were also divided by rank. The difference between a rank 6 immortal Gu and a rank 7 immortal Gu was around five to six times. That was the difference between having six immortal Gu and one immortal Gu.
Keep in mind, most Gu immortals didn't have a single immortal Gu. Only the elite of rank 6 had a rank 6 immortal Gu. Even some of the strongest rank 7 Gu immortals like himself didn't have a single rank 7 Gu. How could a sole rank 6 Gu immortal like Fang Yuan possibly have one?
Immortal Gu weren't easy to advance in rank. Unlike Gu immortals, immortal Gu didn't go through tribulations in order to increase their dao marks. Immortal Gu only advanced in rank through refinement. The creation of an immortal Gu was difficult and dangerous, but the advancement of an immortal Gu was almost impossible without immense recourses and help.
In all of Central Continent how many rank 7 Gu immortals had rank 7 Gu? Three? Five? The number likely didn't exceed ten. And that was considering the fact that Central Continent was the most powerful region in the entire world. In the more barren parts of the world like Western Desert and Northern Plains the number was even lower.
This wasn't because those Gu immortals were incompetent or poor. It was because the advancement of immortal Gu had a very high chance of failing. Most Gu recipes for advancement had less than 1 percent chance of succeeding. That low chance of success could be ignored with enough resources, but what couldn't be ignored was the damage done to the immortal Gu after every failed refinement.
After every failed refinement the immortal Gu being advanced would always suffer major damage. This type of backlash was devastating to the immortal Gu. It could backset progress of refinement for years, or possibly even decades. It could even destroy the immortal Gu completely. If this happened, not only would the Gu immortal lose an immortal Gu, they would lose thousands or even ten of thousands of immortal escense stones.
The only way to circumvent this from happening was to make the immortal Gu your core Gu. Core Gu would always survive failed refinement, no matter how badly damaged it was. Even if every other Gu in the refinement was destroyed, the immortal Gu would always survive. But this problem couldn't be solved by making the immortal Gu you wanted to advance your core Gu.
Once you advanced that immortal Gu, how would you advance other immortal Gu? Gu immortals could only have one core Gu. Once the time came to advance more than one immortal Gu to a higher rank, the issue of failed refinement popped up again. Switching core Gu wasn't really a solution to the problem. Very few methods existed that were capable of changing core Gu without destroying the immortal Gu.
The reason why Vicious Lightning Fiend thought of this wasn't because of his own problems, but because of Fang Yuan. This rank 7 Beast Enslavement Gu, an immortal Gu renowned for it's unique and universally effective beast enslavement capability, likely wasn't Fang Yuan's core Gu.
The reason? Fang Yuan wasn't an enslavement path Gu immortal. Fang Yuan, despite how well he hid it, was very clearly a strength path Gu immortal. His core Gu was almost certain to be a strength path Gu immortal. This meant one of two things. Fang Yuan had a way to advance Gu that weren't his core Gu, or Fang Yuan had an incredibly strong supporting force behind him that could lend him such strong immortal Gu.
"I really underestimated you Fang Yuan." Vicious Lightning Fiend extended a hand and smiled. "Tell me, how much for those cloud beasts?"
"Normal desolate beasts usually go for four hundred immortal essence stones. But these beasts are much more intelligent than normal desolate beasts. I'd say five hundred immortal essence stones per beast."
Fang Yuan gave a fair price, and Vicious Lightning Fiend didn't bother to try and lower it. From what he had learned, Fang Yuan probably wasn't his inferior. Regardless of how strong he was, Fang Yuan was definitely an intriguing person. Vicious Lightning Fiend felt that Central Continent would soon be hit with a new wave of surprise from Fang Yuan.
But what he needed to do now was consolidate his strength and focus on his plan. Fang Yuan and the invisible force behind him was interesting but Vicious Lightning Fiend couldn't waste his time. Soon he would contest Gu immortals for his spot among the best of Central Continent. These cloud beasts were a perfect opportunity to grow stronger and create even more Lightning Deities.
"I'll buy three. But I hope you don't sell those remaining four. I'll be back for them some day."
Fang Yuan smiled and floated a rank 6 Immortal Gu to Vicious Lightning Fiend's face. "I hope you do. They'll be waiting for you once you decide to come back. If you ever decide to advance that Lightning Diety Gu, come to me first. You won't be disappointed."
Fang Yuan moved his hand, and three cloud beasts kneeled before Vicious Lightning Fiend. He smiled and tossed a large sack of immortal escense stones to Fang Yuan's feet in return. The two Gu immortals finally had enough trust in each other to reliably trade with each other. From now on, Vicious Lightning Fiend and Myriad Dragon Dock would have a connection to Fang Yuan and Lang Ya blessed land.
Vicious Lightning Fiend left, and Fang Yuan was left to contemplate his gains. 11,500 immortal essence stones, four cloud beasts, and a newly established relationship with Vicious Lightning Fiend and Myriad Dragon Dock. He was finally ready for the next step of his overarching plan. Soon, Shadow Sect would be hit with a very hard loss.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone