—— — — — — —
ROAR
The air trembled.
An overwhelming aura filled the mountain as the Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion stepped forward—its aura alone rivaling a Rank 8 immortal.
He Feng Yang's jaw dropped.
"Th-that's… That's the legendary Immemorial Desolate Beast, Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion! HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"
Fang Yuan gave a half-smile and looked down at him.
"Sigh… Sorry, He Feng Yang. We're just not a good match. Hope your sect finds a better person."
Then he turned away, leaving He Feng Yang beaten, broken, and surrounded by shattered pride.
First, the mortal he had mocked became an immortal.
Then he was defeated without making the new immortal, reveal his true path.
And now? Fang Yuan had a beast that shouldn't even be possible to control at his level.
This wasn't just a defeat. It was a message from Fang Yuan to the Central Continent.
...
Fang Yuan glanced around. Mortals and immortals alike had gathered to watch the show. The atmosphere buzzed with tension and curiosity.
Clearly, it was the perfect moment.
"Hmph."
"I'm Fang Yuan. And I'm here to expose the Immortal Crane Sect's dirty plans."
Fang Yuan stepped forward, voice loud and clear, deliberately projecting it for all to hear.
"First, let me tell you who I really am."
"I'm just a mortal from the Southern Border. I happened to come across an opportunity to inherit an immortal inheritance. To get it, I had to refine a Gu—specifically, the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu."
He held it up for everyone to see. The faint glow of the Gu pulsed with power.
"Yes, I succeeded in refining an immortal Gu as a mortal. You can check the news from the Southern Border—plenty of people witnessed it during the Three Kings Inheritance."
"Not only that…" He raised his other hand, revealing a second Immortal Gu. "After refining it, I made a plan to get back the Divine Travel Immortal Gu that was consumed during the refinement. And guess what? I pulled it off. I succeeded—again."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"At that time, the inheritance site was collapsing. Countless enemies were targeting me. I had two Immortal Gu, but I was still a mortal and couldn't use either. I was stuck."
"Luckily, the land spirit of the inheritance could use the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu on my behalf. But I had no safe place to escape to."
He paused for effect, eyes narrowing.
"That's when the land spirit showed me a picture—a vision of Hu Blessed Land. I don't know how it got it, but that's where I went."
Fang Yuan's voice grew sharper, more intense.
"And by sheer luck… I won the ownership of Hu Blessed Land. You all know what happened after that."
He took a deep breath, then continued, tone steady.
"But here's the twist—I was never part of the Immortal Crane Sect."
"After recovering from refining an Immortal Gu with my mortal body, I planned to reveal everything to the righteous path sects. I was going to offer my knowledge and Gu in exchange for a high position in whichever sect I joined."
"But before I could even speak, the Immortal Crane Sect publicly claimed I was one of their people."
He Feng Yang shouted, flustered and pale, "T-That's slander! You and your brother joined the sect together! And now you want to deny it?!"
Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes, his voice icy and cutting. "Oh really? You think everyone's that dumb?"
"You only took my brother into your sect because of one reason—the Blood Sea Ancestor's inheritance that I found it by chance, and you thought you could use him to control me."
He turned to the surrounding crowd. "And I'm not just spouting nonsense. Anyone can check the news from the Southern Border—the very news the Immortal Crane Sect keeps trying to cover up."
Fang Yuan continued. "Back then, your sect shamelessly announced that I was one of you. It was obvious—you just wanted to seize the Blessed Land from me without offering a single thing in return. But at the time, I was too weak to resist."
"So now, I declare that I've never been part of any force. Everything I have—my strength, my blessed land, my Gu—I got on my own."
"You can check my information from the Southern Border, so you can be sure that I didn't even have the time to join any force."
He swept his gaze across the crowd, calm and confident.
"And one last thing—now that I've made my position clear that I'm a lone immortal… I'm also planning to join a sect."
He smiled faintly.
"So, I hope I get some decent offers. After all, what I'm offering is enough to push any sect above the rest."
With those final words, Fang Yuan turned and stepped into the entrance of his Blessed Land, disappearing from view.
The crowd remained frozen in place, stunned by everything they had just witnessed.
He Feng Yang turned pale, fully aware of the damage those words would cause him and the sect. They had just been publicly marked as guilty—there was no taking it back.
---
Inside Hu Blessed Land
Fang Yuan stood still for a moment, then broke into a satisfied smile.
"Good. Everything went exactly as planned."
His eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Now it's time for those two from Spirit Affinity House to hold up their end of the deal."
He was thinking of the Rank 7 immortals who had secretly made a deal with him not long ago.
"All that's left is to wait for them to move."
"But before that… Feng Jiu Ge will have to come first then these two. Just as we agreed. Hehehe~ "
He turned to look at the sky of his Blessed Land.
"Once I join the sect, I'll head back to Southern Border."
A rare softness flickered in his expression.
"Shang Xin Ci… I'll be seeing you again soon."
.
.
.