Gazing at Fang Yuan's figure as he shrank to a distant speck on the horizon, Chu Du continued watching him, rooted to the spot.
"Letting him go like this—was that the right call, or a mistake?" Chu Du's eyes flickered.
But soon, he let out a bitter laugh and thought to himself: "Even if I didn't want to let him go, what could I have done?"
"My methods simply can't catch him, and I can't keep up with him either."
"If I tried to force the issue, this person's background is shrouded in mystery—not someone to trifle with. And even if he ended up in my hands, he'd just self-destruct his soul. Where would I get that technique then?"
"Still, judging by his attitude, he genuinely wanted to trade. Otherwise, he could have left long ago—why stay and negotiate with me?"
Chu Du carefully replayed his conversation with Fang Yuan.
He pondered for a long while and concluded that Fang Yuan's sincerity was genuine enough. Although Fang Yuan hadn't mentioned anything substantial and his words seemed like empty pleasantries, it was precisely this that made Chu Du feel it was far more honest than flowery promises or lavish guarantees.
Of course, what gave him the greatest confidence wasn't Fang Yuan's attitude, but the Flying Sword Immortal Gu he now held in his possession.
"This is a Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu!"
Even for a legendary figure like Chu Du, Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu were few in number.
Fang Yuan flew onward and encountered no trouble along the way.
Langya's Earth Spirit had long since arranged for the Mao Clan Gu Immortals to provide backup, setting up Immortal battlefield killer moves and teleportation Gu formations.
However, shaking off Chu Du had gone surprisingly smoothly—far easier than Fang Yuan had anticipated. So the battlefield killer moves prepared to intercept Chu Du had become unnecessary.
Packing them away, Fang Yuan passed through the Immortal Gu formation and returned directly to the Langya Blessed Land.
"You've got the Dog Shit Luck Immortal Gu protecting you, and yet you still ran into Chu Du. That defies all logic. Could someone have been scheming against you?" Langya Earth Spirit's first words upon seeing Fang Yuan were blunt and to the point.
Fang Yuan frowned. In truth, he had been mulling over this very question himself.
"The Dog Shit Luck Immortal Gu should be shielding me, so my fortune shouldn't be poor. Could it be that because my Earth Disaster was so fierce, all the extra luck went toward mitigating it?" This suspicion had been circling in Fang Yuan's mind, but he couldn't exactly say it aloud to Langya Earth Spirit.
After all, he was a human Gu Immortal.
Though he had joined the Langya faction, a chasm still separated the two races.
Just like before, when Fang Yuan had rushed back from the Southern Border all the way to the Northern Plains, Langya Earth Spirit had seized the opportunity to wring benefits out of him.
"If that's the case, then the Earth Disaster I faced was actually significantly weakened by luck. So just how powerful would the real Earth Disaster have been?"
A chill surged through Fang Yuan's heart at the thought.
This tribulation had been a brush with death—life and death balanced on a razor's edge, heart-stoppingly perilous.
It could be said that this had completely surpassed what an Earth Disaster should entail. Even the Ten Great Calamities paled in comparison to what Fang Yuan had just endured.
"Don't forget, I stole fortune from multiple people. The Dog Shit Luck may have been spread thin across all of them, which is why its effect was diluted." Fang Yuan mused inwardly, while aloud he said, "Grand Elder, you make a fair point. This goes beyond mere bad luck. Perhaps someone really is plotting against me!"
The identity of "Fang Yuan" had been completely exposed during the Battle of Yi Tian Mountain.
Whether it was his status as a Demon from Beyond the Heavens, the Spring Autumn Cicada, or the secret destruction of the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building—all of it was public knowledge now.
Whether it was the Heavenly Court, the Shadow Sect, or the great Golden Families of the Northern Plains, any of them could well be scheming against Fang Yuan.
Langya Earth Spirit sighed, a shadow of worry settling over his brow as his tone grew heavier: "Perhaps it wasn't necessarily a plot against you. Don't forget—you're already a member of my Langya faction. And our Langya Blessed Land has been exposed, suffering not just one surprise attack. Only recently, we lost two Gu Immortals from the faction. The value here is enough to make countless powerhouses and factions salivate."
Fang Yuan felt a small spark of delight—this was exactly the way of thinking that suited him best.
Langya Earth Spirit's gaze sharpened, and he quickly pivoted: "But if we could use the Wisdom Gu as the core and construct the Immortal Gu House Hermit's Dwelling, we could not only protect ourselves, but also guard against the schemes of nearly everyone under heaven!"
Fang Yuan let out an amused huff.
So this was what Langya Earth Spirit had been driving at. It seemed his obsession with the Wisdom Gu hadn't faded. Unfortunately, Fang Yuan had not sold him the Wisdom Gu in their previous deal.
"Thanks to your Gu, Grand Elder, this tribulation went smoothly. I'll return them all now—these Gu were a tremendous help." As Fang Yuan spoke, a massive swarm of Gu insects flew out of his Immortal aperture at his command.
"Naturally! With their help, a mere Earth Disaster would be child's play," Langya Earth Spirit said with a note of pride.
Fang Yuan didn't reveal the full truth, but he couldn't very well lie either, so he replied selectively: "The Immortal Disaster Forged Orifice killer move was especially effective—it really worked. Chu Du's appearance at the end was rather alarming, though. Fortunately, my escape and movement abilities just happened to edge him out."
As they talked, Langya Earth Spirit collected the Gu insects one by one, verified they were all accounted for, and then asked with lingering reluctance: "You're really not planning to sell me Dang Hun Mountain and the Wisdom Gu?"
Originally, in their trade, Langya Earth Spirit had wanted to exchange three True Inheritances for Fang Yuan's Dang Hun Mountain, Luo Po Valley, and Wisdom Gu.
But after careful deliberation, Fang Yuan had decided that while the Dao of Refinement, the Dao of Fortune, and the Dao of Theft were all fine paths, his own attainment in these three areas was mediocre and didn't align with where he wanted to go. Exchanging for all three simply wasn't worth it.
However, within the Dao of Refinement, there was the Immortal Disaster Forged Orifice killer move; within the Dao of Fortune True Inheritance, there was the Dog Shit Luck Immortal Gu—and these could provide enormous help when crossing tribulations.
So after weighing his words carefully, Fang Yuan persuaded Langya Earth Spirit: "Are you really willing to exchange all three True Inheritances with me? Each Inheritance contains numerous Immortal Gu. If I take them, won't the Langya faction be unable to use them in the future?"