The Mushroomman Mycelium spread throughout the Mushroomman Paradise, converging in a massive house almost as big as a hill in the form of a giant mushroom. It had a red cap with numerous dots speckling it. A door had been carved into its stalk.
"Does the Mushroomman Mycelium speak like it does in The Legends of Ren Zu?" Fang Yuan asked.
"No, it doesn't," Lu Wei Yin replied. "The Legends of Ren Zu are metaphorical in many ways, after all."
Fang Yuan nodded. He wasn't even sure that many of the gu worms could actually speak like they did within The Legends of Ren Zu. He had Ambition Gu and Beauty Gu, both gu worms which were mentioned within The Legends of Ren Zu, but neither of them had spoken to him. He wondered if they would gain those abilities at rank nine, or if it was entirely a metaphorical concept.
As it was, after hearing Doctor Gu speak, he was in no rush to find a gu worm that could talk.
That said, the Mushroomman Mycelium was undoubtedly still a secluded domain of heaven and earth. Fang Yuan was neither a Poison Path nor an Earth Path cultivator to be able to use it to its full extent.
"Everyone else should be gathered inside," Lu Wei Yin said.
Fang Yuan, Lu Wei Yin, and the Mushroomman Immortal from before walked inside. There, at a large rectangular wooden table, were thirteen seats arranged, one at each end and six at the sides. Lu Wei Yin sat at the head of the table and motioned that Fang Yuan could stay at the other end of the table. The Mushroomman Gu Immortal in question also sat down.
Numerous Wills were present, representing their owners who were not there.
Fang Yuan was the only Rank 6 Gu Immortal there; everyone else seemed to be rank seven or higher. However, it was noted by Fang Yuan from his position that his rank didn't seem to matter that much.
Of the ten people beside the two who had come along with Fang Yuan, seven of them were Mushroommen, two of them were humans, and one of them was a Rockman Gu Immortal.
They introduced themselves, and as the Rockman Gu Immortal in question spoke his name, Fang Yuan realized that he had heard his name before during his past life.
Jun Shen!
This was a Rockman who would eventually become Rank 8 based on his memories from his prior life, but was currently at rank seven.
Fang Yuan remembered him because of a neat little tidbit of information he still retained: this Rockman Gu Immortal had risen to fame after the regional walls had collapsed and the world was in a state of chaos by gathering variant human forces in the Southern Border. Fang Yuan did not know what his ultimate fate was, but there was no doubt that he would be famous in the future.
He had two gu worms in question which could potentially be useful to Fang Yuan: Rank 6 Mountain Into Molehill Gu and Rank 6 Molehill Into Mountain Gu.
Fang Yuan needed to speak with him, but that could wait until after the meeting was over.
Lu Wei Yin began. "Hello, everyone. As you all may have already heard we have a new guest with us here, and a new member to add to the table."
Fang Yuan presented himself before them with a gentle smile on his face, cupping his hands. "My name is Gu Yue Fang Yuan of the Gu Yue clan. I was extraordinarily blessed to have been chosen by Lord Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable. I look forward to working with all of you."
"Gu Yue clan? Have I heard of that name before?"
"We are only a medium-sized clan, and I am the first Gu Immortal from my clan. I doubt that news of such a humble family would have reached your ears."
"Well, I suppose that makes sense."
"You are the first Gu Immortal from your clan? That is quite a feat."
"My uncle helped me during my immortal ascension; I can't imagine trying to do it alone."
The mood around the table was quite friendly and bubbly.
"All right then, Fang Yuan," Lu Wei Yin said. "As a member of our Great Paradise Alliance here, you are certainly entitled to certain benefits. I am the one who oversees the management of this Mushroomman Paradise. But this is still a democratic system, much like Lord Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable had intended."
"Will we be giving Fang Yuan his share of benefits now?" one of them piped up.
"Oh yes, before I forget," Lu Wei Yin said. "Fang Yuan, allow me to present to you your share of this paradise's wealth as the thirteenth seat among our council."
The council had thirteen sheets and so distributions of the wealth generated in the Mushroomman Paradise were made accordingly. Lu Wei Yin's seat was the first seat, and the others from two to twelve were inherited or brought across via smaller sects.
The thirteenth seat, Fang Yuan's, had remained empty until he had come here.
Profits were distributed in a fair manner. Some of them went to the workers of the Paradise, and the rest were distributed among the thirteen seats. Lu Wei Yin got a slightly larger share as a management fee and as Paradise Earth's true inheritor, but it was overall a rather even system, Fang Yuan noted.
"As you can see," Lu Wei Yin continued, "since there hasn't been anyone occupying the thirteenth seat currently up until your appearance, Fang Yuan, quite a fortune has accumulated from that share." The thirteenth seat hadn't arrived until Fang Yuan, but shares had still been kept aside for him. Lu Wei Yin took out an information type gu worm. "Fang Yuan, the amount totals 50,000 Immortal Essence Stones."
Upon hearing this number, those at the table were quite shocked.
Of course, the Paradise in question was quite profitable. It did not undergo calamities and tribulations and continued to pay out dividends. If Fang Yuan was in charge of management, he would've squeezed every once of value out of it and given none to the workers, keeping it for himself, but that was besides the point.
Fang Yuan's share of the thirteenth seat had accumulated for centuries without anyone having taken it. When one thought of things in that way, 50,000 Immortal Essence Stones was not an unreasonably huge amount. Many super forces could amass about a million of them in total.
"I see, I will be taking them then," Fang Yuan said. Certain members there were a bit shocked by how little shocked Fang Yuan was by this amount. Rank 7 Gu Immortals usually had a few hundred Immortal Essence Stones and Rank 8 could have tens of thousands - to be handed this at Rank 6 was a blessing few could hope for.
Fang Yuan, during his previous life, had never managed to accumulate more than sixty.
But Fang Yuan could feel no joy in his heart even after hearing the amount.
It was because, although he had been given these 50,000 Immortal Essence Stones, he could not use them for anything. It was almost the equivalent of not having them. Paradise Earth seemed to have been quite crafty, leaving aside the exact amount that he would need for his future purposes and nothing more than that.
If Fang Yuan wanted more funds, he would have to earn them himself. These fifty thousand immortal stones were crucial to the completion of the ultimate plan; Fang Yuan could not use them for either aperture development or for Immortal Essence until the right time arrived.
If he wanted to do anything else, he had to earn them on his own. He would have to treat these 50,000 Immortal Essence Stones like they weren't even there.