After the handover was complete, the Black Fan grotto-heaven officially changed ownership.
Despite Chu Du's earnest efforts to make Fang Yuan stay, Fang Yuan still insisted on taking his leave.
He had spent too long in the Black Fan grotto-heaven. It was time for him to prepare for the fourth earthly tribulation.
Of course, before departing, he used the Immortal Gu killer move "A Hundred Years of Harmony" to establish another alliance with Chu Du.
Fang Yuan left in a hurry, leaving Chu Du behind. The latter stared at the desolate Black Fan grotto-heaven, his head aching.
All the way back, until he reached the Langya blessed land.
"Oh, look—Fang Yuan is back," a hairy man Gu Immortal in the Langya blessed land spotted Fang Yuan's figure streaking across the sky.
"What does it matter whether he comes back or not?"
"Exactly. With or without him in our Langya Sect, it makes no difference whatsoever."
"After all, he's a human Gu Immortal, not one of us hairy men."
"Forget about him. Let's keep planning how to besiege that Star-Falling Dog!"
Soon, these few hairy man Gu Immortals all lowered their heads and resumed their discussion of tactics.
Fang Yuan gazed down below, his eyes sweeping over the hairy man Gu Immortals in a single passing glance. Though they were far apart, Fang Yuan's detection methods naturally caught every word of their conversation without missing a single syllable.
In that instant, Fang Yuan's gaze deepened.
He had spent considerable time searching for the Black Fan true inheritance, and the fourth earthly tribulation was now fast approaching.
For this tribulation, Fang Yuan intended to face it alone.
Although receiving Chu Du's help would make things more stable, the Kuangman true meaning would inevitably be split with him. When there were benefits, Fang Yuan of course wanted to keep them all to himself! Only when he couldn't swallow everything alone would he consider other options.
Moreover, having obtained the Black Fan true inheritance this time, his strength had increased dramatically. He was quite confident in handling the fourth earthly tribulation on his own!
"But to survive tribulation, I still need the Langya Sect's 'Tribulation-Forging Aperture' killer move. That means I need to borrow Gu worms—both Immortal and mortal—from the Langya land spirit."
"Given the current cold state of my relationship with the Langya land spirit, borrowing is probably out of the question. Unless I offer something of enormous value, like selling off the Danghun Mountain."
"In that case, while I still have some time, I should first complete that sect mission to eliminate the Star-Falling Dog. First, it can ease relations. Second, I can earn a handsome amount of sect contributions to cover the cost of borrowing the Gu."
Instead of returning to his own cloud city, Fang Yuan flew straight ahead, arriving at the First Cloud City.
There, he met the Langya land spirit.
"So you actually bothered to come back?" The Langya land spirit was utterly uncordial toward Fang Yuan, her attitude frigid.
Fang Yuan sighed. With a bitter expression, he said: "Supreme Elder, please forgive me—I have my own unavoidable difficulties. It wasn't that I was indifferent before, but that I simply had no energy or time. This time, when I went out, I was finally able to temporarily relieve my own crisis. The moment I returned here, I heard the Supreme Elders and the council discussing how to besiege the Star-Falling Dog. I came immediately, hoping to take on this mission from your hands, Supreme Elder."
"Oh?" The Langya land spirit raised her eyebrows upon hearing this. "So you're saying you intend to take action?"
Fang Yuan smiled bitterly once more. "In truth, I have always intended to take action. After all, I am a member of the Langya Sect. But circumstances left me no choice. Now that I finally have some spare strength, I want to do something for the sect."
His acting, combined with the Attitude Gu, produced immediate results. The Langya land spirit suddenly felt that everything Fang Yuan said seemed to be the truth, and that he was genuinely sincere and apologetic.
Her expression softened a few more degrees. She was about to agree, but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she said: "You want to take this mission now—there may be some complications. Earlier, Mao Shier and the others had already formed a group and agreed to tackle it together. Although their last attempt to eliminate it failed, they still gained a great deal. It was almost mutual devastation. This time, they'll likely succeed. Fang Yuan, if you try to take this mission now, regardless of whether you could succeed, you'd be creating conflict with them right off the bat."
Fang Yuan was merely an outsider, while Mao Shier and the others were genuine hairy man Gu Immortals—insiders.
Between the lines, the Langya land spirit was clearly siding with Mao Shier and his group.
Fang Yuan nodded. "I see. How about this—let them take the mission first. If they fail this time, I'll step in. How does that sound?"
The Langya land spirit considered for a moment, then nodded. "That's acceptable."
Fang Yuan continued: "I ask that the Supreme Elder make this arrangement known to everyone."
The Langya land spirit saw no objection to that.
Once this was announced, a whirlwind immediately swept through the Langya Sect.
"Fang Yuan wants to take action now?"
"Hmph—he must have seen that we're about to succeed, so he wants to swoop in!"
"What a despicable person!"
"Despicable or not, put that aside for now. All I know is that the bounty for eliminating the Star-Falling Dog has already surpassed a thousand! Whoever completes it stands to gain enormously."
"Shier, you all have to succeed this time! Don't give Fang Yuan an opening!"
The hairy man Gu Immortals shared a strong sense of righteous indignation.
Mao Shier nodded, subconsciously clenching his fists, thinking: "This time I must succeed. I'll be fully prepared and live up to everyone's expectations!"
The results of their last battle had given these hairy men tremendous confidence.
Mao Shier had originally planned to strike again in two days. But after this episode, he decided to be more prudent and prepare even more thoroughly.
Seven days later, Fang Yuan received intelligence that Mao Shier and the others were about to make their move.
He arrived uninvited, joining up with Mao Shier and the rest.
"Elder Fang Yuan." Mao Liu was the first to greet him, his tone dripping with sarcasm.