Fortuitous Opportunity
Boss's Mansion.
Outside the original Fairy Crimson Refinement's cave abode, Chen Cheng and Zhuang Xian stood on either side of Fang Yu, while opposite them were five Foundation Establishment cultivators with complex expressions.
Unlike the excited Zhuang Xian, Chen Cheng was secretly filled with regret. He secretly glanced at Lü Bu beside him—no, he was now called Danyangzi —and the voice of their earlier conversation floated into his mind:
"Fellow Daoist Lü, why are only the two of you at the Foundation Establishment? Where are the rest of you?"
"Fellow Daoist? What fellow Daoist?"
"From the Heavenly Strategy Manor? And which True Disciple is there?"
"Oh, you mean this? Sorry, I lied. I'm just a Rogue Cultivator. How could I possibly know True Disciple of the Heavenly Strategy Manor?"
"What? Rogue Cultivator? You, you, you're not from the Heavenly Strategy Manor, how can you guard this spirit mine? If any one of the four Golden Core forces sends a Golden Core Ancestor, we're finished!"
"What's the panic? Isn't there a third-tier grand formation? With this formation, even if Golden Core cultivator comes, it's no problem!"
"If you can break through this formation, what chance do you have against Golden Core Ancestor? Moreover, this formation was built by Array Master Zong. If he comes, how can you possibly defend it?"
"Heh, do you think Mosquito Immortal City would still trust Array Master Zong? Even if Array Master Zong came in person, with me personally overseeing the grand array, everything will be fine."
"Alas! Alas! I truly regret being misled by you; now, now I'm doomed!"
"..."
Just then, Fang Yu's voice rang out, pulling Chen Cheng back to reality.
"It's been a long time since we last met, fellow Daoists. Danyang greets you all. I presume Fellow Daoist Chen has already explained things to you. From now on, the four of you will share 10% of the Spirit Stone produced from this mine. Are you satisfied with this arrangement?"
"Satisfy!"
"Satisfy!"
"Lu Dao... The conditions offered by the Danyang Ward Master are extremely generous; we will certainly follow his lead!"
Fang Yu nodded and said, "Good, very good!"
He then looked at the other two Foundation Establishment, "You two are the guardians of this place from the Heavenly Strategy Manor and the Yellow Sand Sect, respectively. Since your statuses are different, I will not insist on keeping you here. I would like to trouble you two to pass on a message to your two ancestors after you return: Although I have taken over this Autumn Moon Mountain Market, I will not monopolize it. I am willing to give each of your families 20%."
He then switched to Divine Sense communication.
"Of course, this 20% isn't free. I need you to exchange it for opportunities to achieve the Golden Core fortuitous opportunity, such as a third-tier ' Golden Core Formation Pill ' Pill Formula, corresponding spiritual materials, or information about Golden Core fortuitous opportunity, etc. As long as it satisfies me, I wouldn't mind taking an extra 10%."
Upon receiving the telepathic message, the two Foundation Establishment' initial panic dissipated, and the arrogance of disciples from major sects returned to their faces. They were no longer so afraid of Fang Yu.
The representative from the Heavenly Strategy Manor immediately replied, "I will convey what Fellow Daoist Danyang has said to our Ancestor. I only hope that you can withstand the wrath of the two Golden Core Ancestors from Mosquito Immortal City."
"Hahaha!" Fang Yu laughed, "There's no need for you to worry about that, fellow Daoist. Please, both of you!"
Goodbye!
The two Foundation Establishment then used their escape light to leave Autumn Moon Mountain Market through the passage opened by Fang Yu.
After the two Foundation Establishment left, Fang Yu looked at the rest of the group, "Haha, everyone, it's been a long time since we last met. We must have a good get-together. Come, let's go to the Wondrous Sound House and relax."
*****
Wondrous Sound House, Xiao Taohong Blossom carefully served the Demonic Path Master who had brazenly seized the assets of the Golden Core Sect.
Before dawn, the Autumn Moon Mountain Market had changed hands. This drastic change terrified him, who feared that he might inadvertently offend this person and suffer a gruesome end.
Halfway through the meal, the atmosphere became more relaxed. Fang Yu also recounted some old stories from his time in Mosquito Immortal City, which gradually put the minds of the three Foundation Establishment cultivators at ease.
Seeing that the others had lowered their guard, Fang Yu immediately dismissed Xiao Taohong and the others from the room and began to discuss serious matters.
"From this day forward, entry into Autumn Moon Mountain Market is permitted, but exit is prohibited. All Spirit Stone mined by miners will be split 20/80 with the market to incentivize them to dig..."
"Each of you may send someone back to your Lineage to arrange for a disciple to serve as an steward..."
"The Autumn Moon Mountain Market may be attacked by Golden Core cultivators in the future, but there's no need to worry. I will strengthen this third-tier grand formation, so even Golden Core cultivators need not fear..."
"As long as we unite and work together to get through the most difficult initial stage, the path to heaven will follow..."
When it was fully light, Fang Yu finished discussing the matter with everyone and began to carry it out.
Most of the original stewards in this market were replaced by members of the Zhuang Household family, but with Foundation Establishment like Chen Cheng stepping forward, the original Qi Refining Realm stewards quickly submitted, and then they began to announce a new method for dividing the profits from the pits.
This delighted the previously apprehensive miners; a 20% share was far better than the fixed amount of Spirit Stone they had received before.
Of course, many miners chose to leave the area, Fang Yu immediately allowed them to leave without any coercion.
Seeing that they could really leave, the remaining miners were relieved and rushed into the mining area with renewed vigor, digging frantically.
These miners weren't afraid of hardship or fatigue; their only fear was not being able to take the Spirit Stone they dug out with them. Now that they saw that people could actually leave, they were all relieved.
Moreover, everyone was frantically digging for spirit ore, making the Autumn Moon Mountain spirit mine lively again. Although some people had left, the mining efficiency had actually increased.
After entrusting these trivial matters to Zhuang Xian and Chen Cheng, Fang Yu began to rearrange the third-order grand formation.
His figure appeared in various places in the market, and then he buried new array bases and array flags, embedding the movable "Lesser Thousand-Needle Nether River Formation" that he had previously refined into the existing large array.
This array within an array made the defense of the Autumn Moon Mountain spirit mine even more secure. Although he was very confident in his Dao of Arrays skills, he still wouldn't be careless. After all, the Golden Core sect would definitely train its own array masters. If he left a flaw and it was exploited, his plan to exchange this mine for a Core fortuitous opportunity would be ruined.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed, and the entire Autumn Moon Mountain Market had returned to normal operation. Although many miners who had found spirit ore chose to leave, those who remained worked even harder.
Fang Yu finally completed the complete integration, forming a double-layered protective array with an outer and an inner layer. Even if the outer array was broken, he still had the inner one, which was enough for him to calmly escape into the depths of the mine and go to the Dao of Qi Ingestion to avoid disaster.
However, this is the worst-case scenario. The best-case scenario is that the Golden Core Ancestors are tied up with each other, and no one dares to come. At most, they will send some Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators or even Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivators to negotiate with him.
Suddenly, a streak of light appeared, revealing Zhuang Xian's figure. He said urgently, "Master, news has just come from Mosquito Immortal City that another Bandit Cultivator is testing the Mosquito Immortal City's great formation. It seems that Daoist Mosquito won't leave Mosquito Immortal City easily."
"Hmm!" Fang Yu nodded and asked, "What's the situation with the Cloud Spirit Sect?"
Zhuang Xian replied, "Daoist Thousand Insects has launched successive attacks on the Cloud Spirit Sect's grand formation, but all have been blocked. I believe Daoist Thousand Insects is now in a dilemma. If he abandons the Cloud Spirit Sect to attack us, he will give Cloud Spirit Sect Fairy Cloud Spirit chance to breathe and escape elsewhere. Once she is out of sight of Mosquito Immortal City, it will be difficult to stop her. Therefore, Daoist Thousand Insects currently has no choice but to launch a strong attack on the Cloud Spirit Sect in order to break it down, so that he can then free up his hands to deal with us."
Fang Yu nodded and said, "That's right. As long as the Cloud Spirit Sect doesn't perish, Mosquito Immortal City won't be able to deal with us. And the two patriarchs of the Heavenly Strategy Manor and Yellow Sand Sect won't leave their sects easily. They must be calculating whether our actions are a trap set by other sects to lure them away from their sects. This is our opportunity. If we can stall for three to five years, the spirit mines we dig out will be more than enough for us to enjoy."
Zhuang Xian said admiringly, "Master is truly wise. I only recently understood your profound meaning. Only you, Master, could pull chestnuts out of the fire with such a heroic act."
"Hahaha!" Fang Yu burst into laughter, but his hand inside his sleeve was calculating the fortunes to come:
[Small Blessing]
'It seems my chance to Golden Core fortuitous opportunity has been secured.'