The chestnut yak was slapped into the pit by Fang Yuan with a single palm strike, and it never dared climb back out.
Mao Shi'er desperately cycled through his methods, but he couldn't get the chestnut yak to stand up and fight again.
"Desolate beasts are no good, and neither are Immortal Gu Masters." Fang Yuan shook his head inwardly and voluntarily dismissed his Immortal Path killer move.
In the blink of an eye, the massive flying bear dissolved into a ball of radiant light.
From within the glow, Fang Yuan's figure slowly descended until he touched the ground.
"I've lost again this time. Brother Fang, you really are something!" Mao Shi'er struggled for a long while without achieving any results, so he cupped his fists and conceded defeat to Fang Yuan.
He and Fang Yuan had sparred several times already.
In the beginning, after losing, he still refused to accept it, a bit stubborn about it. But after enough rounds, he had gone numb—losing was normal; winning would have been the anomaly.
"Brother Shi'er, you still need to practice that Immortal Path killer move a lot more. And this chestnut yak is both weak and cowardly—you'd better swap it for another desolate beast as soon as possible." Fang Yuan offered a couple of casual pointers.
Mao Shi'er nodded repeatedly and let out a sigh: "Isn't it because the Precious Yellow Heaven is closed? Once it reopens, I'll head straight there and buy a desolate beast that can actually fight. This yak has been raised until it lost all its wildness—I've wanted to get rid of it for a long time. But the cost of purchasing a desolate beast has to come out of my own pocket. That's the rule after establishing a sect. Sigh, my Slave Beast Immortal Gu isn't even my own yet—I still have to pay fees to the sect. Enough talk, enough talk—I need to rush back and refine Gu, and try to sell a few more Immortal Essence Stones."
"Then I won't see you out." Fang Yuan nodded.
Mao Shi'er collected the chestnut yak and strode off in a hurry.
"Good. Twenty more sect contribution points, right in hand." Fang Yuan watched Mao Shi'er's departing figure, a faint ripple of pleasure swelling in his heart.
Over these past few days, he had not only sparred with Mao Shi'er but also had similar exchanges with the other fur-folk Gu Immortals.
It turned out that Fang Yuan and Mao Liu had conducted a secret deal. Although the transaction was finished, the fact that Mao Liu had repeatedly taken the initiative to visit Cloud City—where Fang Yuan was stationed—created a small but noticeable loose end.
Even though Fang Yuan had joined the Langya Sect and become a Guest Supreme Elder, a certain barrier still existed between him and the fur-folk Gu Immortals.
After all, the human race held dominion in the present age, and the fur folk, as a branch of the non-human races, had suffered persecution at human hands throughout history.
Fang Yuan was technically one of their own, but the fur-folk Gu Immortals kept a respectful distance from him. So why had Mao Liu suddenly gone out of his way to visit Fang Yuan? This had aroused more than a few suspicions.
To patch up this loose end, after the transaction, Mao Liu had deliberately—whether intentionally or in passing—let slip to the other fur-folk Gu Immortals that he had sought out Fang Yuan in order to improve his own combat strength. The Shadow Sect's surprise attack, he explained, and then this recent tribulation crossing, had made him acutely aware of his glaring deficiency in combat ability. He wanted to make up for it, and so he had sought out the human Gu Master Fang Yuan for some pointers.
To make the story more convincing, Mao Liu had also proactively challenged the other fur-folk Gu Immortals to spars, defeating them one by one.
Mao Liu was a mole planted within the Langya Sect—one of the split souls of Demon Venerable Soul—and possessed profound combat expertise of his own. With just a fraction of his true ability, it was easy for him to triumph over everyone around him.
This matter sent shockwaves through the small circle of fur-folk Gu Immortals. Even the Langya Earth Spirit caught wind of it and publicly commended Mao Liu's conduct. The spirit even encouraged the other fur-folk Gu Immortals to seek out Fang Yuan for guidance as well. After all, the fur-folk Gu Immortals' combat power was notoriously low, and it had long been a sore point for the Langya Earth Spirit.
After Mao Liu, still more fur-folk Gu Immortals came to Fang Yuan seeking instruction and sparring. After some thought, Fang Yuan grasped Mao Liu's intentions and warmly received every one of them.
Because this was a matter from which he stood to gain everything and lose nothing.
First, he would be relying on the Langya Sect for a long time to come—using the sect to smooth his cultivation and make his tribulation crossings safer. Maintaining good relations with the fur-folk Gu Immortals was therefore essential.
Second, just as Mao Liu's motive required it, Fang Yuan also needed to play his part and patch up the loose end left by their secret deal.
Third, Fang Yuan needed sect contribution points from the Langya Sect.
Going forward, if he wanted to request the Langya Earth Spirit's assistance and leverage the Langya Sect's resources, he couldn't very well negotiate a new deal with the Earth Spirit every single time.
The reason he had been able to trade with the Langya Earth Spirit before was that the spirit had taken a liking to his Falling Loose Valley, Soul-Wandering Mountain, and Wisdom Gu.
From now on, if he wanted the Langya Sect to act on his behalf, he would have to rely mainly on sect contribution points.
That was the Langya Sect's own rule—even the Langya Earth Spirit voluntarily abided by it.
The Langya Earth Spirit had long ago issued sect tasks, and one of the primary ones was to instruct fur-folk Gu Immortals and improve their combat capabilities.
For this particular task, even the Earth Spirit itself was not well suited to carry it out. Fang Yuan was the only fitting candidate.
Over the past few days, Fang Yuan had guided quite a number of fur-folk Gu Immortals, and the response had been overwhelmingly enthusiastic.