The autumn wind was crisp and cool, blowing gently.
Looking around, autumn had dyed the mountain ranges.
Leaves were a mix of red and yellow, wild fruits hung heavily from the branches. Only the Green Spear Bamboo, green as jade, still stood tall and straight.
"Once upon a time, the Gu Yue Clan was like this Green Spear Bamboo on the mountain, evergreen and unrivaled. Now... they've fallen on hard times." Xiong Li's lips curled into a cold, mocking arc.
But soon, he thought of his own village, and the arc on his lips flattened. His mood became heavy.
The rise of the Bai Clan Village had already shattered the old balance of Qing Mao Mountain. The decline of the traditional overlord, the Gu Yue Clan, coupled with the mismanagement of the Xiong Clan Village, was pushing the situation on Qing Mao Mountain toward instability.
Xiong Li knew that the only reason this problem hadn't fully erupted was the pressure of the Wolf Tide looming over them. The three villages had to cooperate fully to survive this Wolf Tide, so they had tacitly agreed to cooperate and temporarily set aside past grudges.
"Once the Wolf Tide is over, the old order of Qing Mao Mountain is bound to be broken. Bai Ning Bing, it's only been a few years, and he's already reached the Third Turn... truly terrifying..." The image of a white-clothed youth appeared in Xiong Li's mind, and his heart felt as if a heavy stone were pressing down on it, weighing him down.
He, Xiong Li, was the number one Second Turn Gu Master of the Xiong Clan Village. He had fought dozens of battles, large and small, winning more than he lost, and had built up a fearsome reputation. He possessed the Xiong Hao Gu, which when unleashed, gave him the strength of a bear, earning him the title of the strongest strongman of Qing Mao Mountain.
He had been out in the world for a long time and had witnessed Bai Ning Bing's rocket-like rise firsthand, understanding the terror of this person better than most.
"Captain, is that Gu Yue Village over there? It's still so far away, why are we stopping here?" Xiong Lin asked curiously from the side, his hands folded behind his head.
In the group of five, Xiong Lin was the youngest, a fresh-faced newcomer. The same age as Fang Yuan, he was the top genius of the Xiong Clan Village this generation.
He was short and had a shaved head, which shone whitely in the sun.
Xiong Li glanced at this rising star of his clan, and his heavy mood lightened slightly. He answered in a deep voice, "We are on a diplomatic mission, not a reconnaissance mission. This is already the alert line of the Gu Yue Clan. If we barge in recklessly, we'll likely be treated as enemies."
"Oh, I see," Xiong Lin realized.
"We have two purposes for coming here. One is to deliver the clan leader's personal letter to the Gu Yue clan leader. The other is to investigate the River-Swallowing Toad incident. Gu Yue Village is, after all, not our territory. Once we get there, keep your bad tempers in check. But you must never disgrace the might of our Xiong Clan Village. Understood?" Xiong Li's gaze swept over his four companions as he gave a light shout.
The other Gu Masters all became alert and nodded silently.
"Captain, someone's coming," the scout Gu Master in the group suddenly spoke.
"It's about time they arrived, considering we didn't hide our tracks for so long. I wonder who it is... Hm? It's Chi Shan." Soon, Xiong Li also spotted Chi Shan's group, his eyes involuntarily flickering.
"Wow! That guy is huge! Is that Chi Shan? He's even taller than Captain Xiong! Look at those muscles, just blocks of them... Captain, is that the one who was born with superhuman strength and has been trying to snatch your title as the strongest strongman of Qing Mao Mountain?" Xiong Lin was instantly dumbfounded.
"Hmph, as if he could..." the sinister Xiong Jiang curled his lips in disdain.
"Xiong Li!" "Chi Shan."
The two groups closed the distance to fifty paces. The two captains met face to face, their sharp gazes seemingly colliding and sparking in the air.
"Looks like you're the envoy of the Xiong Clan Village this time," Chi Shan snorted coldly. He had sparred with Xiong Li many times.
"That's right. Has the envoy from the Bai Clan Village arrived?" Xiong Li asked, his face stiff as iron.
"Why ask so many questions? Just follow me," Chi Shan said warily, turning slightly and gesturing an invitation.
...
Meanwhile.
In the second secret chamber, four jars of wine were placed before Fang Yuan.
The four wines were sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy. The sweet was Golden Honey Wine, the spicy was White Grain Liquor, the sour was Bayberry Wine, and the bitter was Kubei Wine.
Fang Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground. With a thought, two Wine Worm Gu flew out from his aperture.
The process of refining the Four Flavors Wine Worm Gu was slightly different from ordinary refining.
Under Fang Yuan's will, the two Wine Worm Gu dove into the jar of Bayberry Wine together.
In the bayberry wine liquid, they began attempting to merge. A white ball of light formed in the jar. Brilliant light shot out from the mouth of the jar, reflecting onto the ceiling.
Fang Yuan threw Primeval Stones into the jar; one, ten, fifty...
Until the hundredth stone, the ball of light condensed to the size of a fist, suspended in the jar.
At this point, the bayberry wine was completely consumed. Fang Yuan picked up the second jar and poured the thick, oil-like Golden Honey Wine into it.
Soaked in the honey wine, the white ball of light suddenly swelled back to its original size.
Sweat beaded on Fang Yuan's forehead. He had to constantly maintain the fusion of the awareness of the two Wine Worm Gu, requiring him to multitask and consuming immense mental energy.
He continued throwing Primeval Stones into the jar.
With each Primeval Stone thrown, the white ball of light shrank and condensed slightly, until it condensed back to the size of a fist, reaching its limit.
Fang Yuan repeated the process, sequentially adding the Kubei Wine and the White Grain Liquor.
After all four jars of fine wine were consumed, the white light in the jar suddenly flared up brightly, then dissipated into nothing.
"It's done." Fang Yuan knew it was a success without looking into the jar.
With a thought, a Gu worm flew out unsteadily from the jar.
It was the Four Flavors Wine Worm Gu.