Chapter 256: Fang Di Chang Response

"A Wisdom Path, Great Grandmaster at least."

Mo Chou fell silent. Until now, the Mo Family had been able to maintain the pursuit because the Wisdom Path Gu Immortals could repeatedly locate Lin Yan’s approximate location. Myriad Earth Flying Sand Castle only needed to follow their deductions and slowly close the distance. Now that this method had failed, continuing to search the enormous Green Ghost Desert was little different from searching blindly.

The greater problem was what would happen afterward. Once Lin Yan escaped their deductions, there was nothing preventing him from leaving Green Ghost Desert. He could conceal his movements and appear anywhere within Western Desert, while the Mo Family had far too many possessions that could not be hidden. Their resource points, cities, trade routes, and other businesses were spread across a vast territory. Even if the clan concentrated its Gu Immortals together, it could not protect everything at once. Lin Yan had already demonstrated enough battle strength to kill a Rank Seven Gu Immortal and capture another alive. If he began attacking isolated resource points instead of confronting Myriad Earth Flying Sand Castle directly, the Mo Family would be forced into a completely passive position.

What troubled Mo Chou even more was the speed at which Lin Yan was growing. Only a dozen days earlier, the joint deduction of several Wisdom Path Gu Immortals had been enough to track him. Now Lin Yan had somehow obtained Grandmaster Wisdom Path attainment, established powerful defenses against deductions, and could even follow their methods backward to find them. If this continued, delaying the conflict might only make him more troublesome to deal with.

After considering the situation for a while, Mo Chou finally ordered, "Contact Fang Family’s Second Supreme Elder, Fang Di Chang. Ask whether he is willing to deduce Lin Yan’s location. Also send a message to Sun Cu and have him contact Lin Yan. Tell him that the Mo Family wishes to negotiate."

The surrounding Mo Family Gu Immortals exchanged glances. One of them asked, "Second Supreme Elder, what should we do now?"

"Return to the clan." Mo Chou sighed. Since they could no longer determine Lin Yan’s location, continuing to search Green Ghost Desert served no purpose. The Mo Family had already lost one Rank Seven Gu Immortal and another had been captured alive. Before deciding whether to continue the conflict, they first needed to strengthen the defenses of their important resource points and see whether Fang Di Chang could locate Lin Yan.

Not far from Green Ghost Desert, Fang Di Chang, the Fang Family’s Second Supreme Elder, received news of the Mo Family’s failure. The outcome surprised even him. Lin Yan had disappeared for barely a dozen days, yet when he reappeared, the combined efforts of several Wisdom Path Gu Immortals could no longer uncover his location.

When the Mo Family invited Fang Di Chang to perform the next deduction himself, he refused without hesitation. Regardless of the price they offered, there was no reason to provoke Lin Yan for the Mo Family’s sake. The other super forces that had sent Wisdom Path Gu Immortals to assist them were probably regretting their involvement as well. Had they known from the beginning that Lin Yan controlled an Immemorial Desolate Beast and possessed such troublesome methods, few would have agreed to participate so readily.

News of the Mo Family’s withdrawal from the Green Ghost Desert soon spread throughout Western Desert, causing a great stir among the super forces. They had mobilized several Gu Immortals, dispatched the Rank Seven Immortal Gu House Myriad Earth Flying Sand Castle, and paid a heavy price to gather several Wisdom Path experts. Yet despite everything they had committed to the pursuit, they failed to capture Lin Yan, lost one Rank Seven Gu Immortal, and allowed another to fall into his hands.

Meanwhile, inside Startling Divinity Blessed Land, Lin Yan ended the activation of his killer moves. Using the previous deduction as a clue, Trace the Source had successfully located the Mo Family Gu Immortals. When he discovered Myriad Earth Flying Sand Castle rapidly retreating from the Green Ghost Desert, surprise flashed across his face. "Oh? They’re already leaving?"

Shortly afterward, Lin Yan received a message from Sun Cu conveying the Mo Family’s request for negotiations. He read it once and sneered. "Now they want to negotiate? Too late." He put the message away without replying. The Mo Family had pursued him throughout the Green Ghost Desert and repeatedly invited outsiders to deduce his location. Now that their methods had failed, they wanted to negotiate and bring the conflict to an end. Lin Yan had no intention of letting them escape so easily.

However, he did not need to deal with them immediately. Now that he could defend himself against Wisdom Path deductions, the Mo Family could no longer locate him whenever they wished. The initiative had fallen into his hands. His more urgent problems lay within Flame Sovereign Blessed Land. The three Immortal Gu formations placed a heavy burden on the immortal aperture, while its growing population and numerous resource points required more space. Undergoing further tribulations and expanding the blessed land took priority. The Mo Family could wait until he had finished.

Lin Yan turned his attention to Flame Sovereign Blessed Land. After reaching Wisdom Path Grandmaster, his understanding of the immortal aperture had changed completely. Problems that had once taken considerable effort to uncover were now exposed after only a few deductions. Flaws in the placement of resource points, the circulation and consumption of resources, the clashes between different dao marks, and countless smaller imperfections all became impossible to miss.

When Lin Yan examined the Flame Desert in the north, his attention suddenly stopped. Brilliant light poured down from the sky while flames of countless colors burned across the desert, each growing within a suitable environment. As he compared these resource points with the memories left by his previous self, he realized that he already possessed everything needed to take the first step.

"So that’s how it is. I can finally begin developing the Endless Fire Domain."