Southern Border. The Wu family.
Fang Yuan, wearing the appearance of Wu Yihai, set foot in the Southern Border and traveled without rest back to the Wu family's main stronghold.
Upon learning of his arrival, the Wu family's current Supreme Grand Elder, Wu Yong, immediately summoned him.
"Brother, here are the Immortal Gu I previously borrowed from the clan. All returned in full." Fang Yuan presented the Immortal Gu with both hands.
Wu Yong accepted them, sitting in the seat of honor with a faint smile. "How was your trip to the Eastern Sea, second brother?"
Every Gu Immortal had their own secrets, especially someone as uniquely positioned as Wu Yihai. Wu Yong wouldn't pry too deeply into Fang Yuan's affairs. This question was mostly pleasantry.
"Quite the fruitful haul." A hint of joy surfaced on Fang Yuan's face, along with a touch of sentiment. It looked entirely genuine.
"Good." Wu Yong nodded.
There was no way he could imagine just how bountiful Fang Yuan's harvest had been.
This time leaving the Southern Border, Fang Yuan had pursued and hunted the remnants of the Shadow Sect. Though his ultimate goal hadn't been achieved, his gains were enormous.
Fang Yuan had not only obtained the Perseverance Immortal Gu and become the Lord of the Reverse Flow River, but his combat power had skyrocketed — even Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals couldn't handle him. The name Liu Guanyi shook across the Five Regions!
And on his return journey, he had participated in a high-level trading convention in the Eastern Sea. There, he had exchanged for the Divination Turtle Back Immortal Gu and a Sixth Transformation Sun Gu.
"Thank you for your concern, brother. When should I return to the Gu formation to continue secluded cultivation? I leave the arrangement to you." Fang Yuan added, his tone and manner thoroughly humble.
Wu Yong was very pleased with Fang Yuan's behavior.
Over the past days, he had been managing the entire Wu family. Thanks to Fang Yuan's voluntary deference, the internal resistance within the clan had dropped dramatically, allowing him to smoothly coordinate everything and consolidate power.
The Wu Yong of now was subtly different from when he had first taken charge. He had grown more composed, more commanding — radiating the aura of absolute authority, brooking no offense.
That Fang Yuan was so sensible naturally put Wu Yong at ease.
The clan system was different from sects — it placed greater emphasis on bloodline ties.
Wu Yihai's identity made him uniquely special among the Wu family Gu Immortals. Purely in terms of bloodline standing, Fang Yuan ranked second to none but the patriarch.
Since Wu Yihai was set on secluded cultivation, Wu Yong was happy to oblige.
"Go back to your quarters and rest, brother. I'll make the arrangements. Within a few days, something will be set in place," Wu Yong agreed immediately.
"Then I thank you, brother. I'll take my leave." Having achieved his objective, Fang Yuan promptly withdrew.
He had a residence in the Wu family compound as well. Shortly after joining the Wu clan, he had been assigned a mountain peak for his exclusive use.
"Wu Yong has already established preliminary control over the Wu family."
"The identity of Wu Yihai is sensitive. If he were to collude with ambitious people like the Qiao family and stir up trouble, it would give Wu Yong quite the headache."
"So, as a precaution, Wu Yong would never allow Wu Yihai to roam freely and build merit or cultivate prestige within the clan."
Other Wu family Gu Immortals could do that, but Wu Yihai could not.
At least not for the time being.
After all, Wu Duxiu had only recently passed away. Wu Yong held the reins, but his grip wasn't yet stable.
Fang Yuan saw the situation with crystal clarity.
He wasn't worried about being unable to return to the super Gu formation.
Days on the mountain peak passed as he continued his cultivation.
But the Immortal Aperture could not be neglected.
Never mind opening the aperture's gateway to draw in the Heaven and Earth energy.
"My Supreme Immortal Aperture is far too potent. Every time it absorbs external Heaven and Earth energy, it triggers massive anomalies — summoning howling winds, churning clouds. The commotion is far too great."
"However, the Reverse Flow River truly does consume a tremendous amount of Heaven and Earth energy. It seems that even after I return to the ruins of Yitian Mountain, I'll need to periodically draw in external energy to replenish the reserves, just to keep the Supreme Aperture from depleting."
It was a burden.
A sweet one, nonetheless.
Though Wu Yong had told him to rest more, Fang Yuan did no such thing.
He continued cultivating, racing against every second.
Numerous clan Gu Immortals came to visit the uniquely positioned Wu Yihai during this period, but Fang Yuan turned them all away.
This attitude and conduct satisfied Wu Yong greatly — he took it as proof that Wu Yihai had no intention of meddling in clan affairs. In response, Wu Yong sent over a generous supply of Immortal materials under his own name, several times over. It was both a goodwill gesture and a reward, but it also conveniently bolstered his own reputation as "a brother who dearly loves his sibling."
At the peak of the mountain, in a vast hall, Fang Yuan had already transformed into a giant turtle.
The creature was as large as a house, its body a deep, dark black. The shell on its back was thick and hard, covered in thousands upon thousands of patterned lines that crisscrossed in dizzying yet perfectly orderly fashion.
It was the Divination Turtle.
This ancient beast belonged to the Wisdom Path. After the transformation, all of Fang Yuan's Transformation Path marks had been converted into Wisdom Path marks.
Combined with his prior accumulation of Wisdom Path marks, this instantly brought about a colossal qualitative leap.
With this foundation, when Fang Yuan employed Wisdom Path methods to calculate, his efficiency skyrocketed — several times greater than before, and sometimes even exceeding tenfold!
A very simple Divination Turtle Back Immortal Gu. Judged purely by the Gu itself, it couldn't compare to Attitude Gu or Wisdom Sword Gu. It didn't even hold a candle to Sword Escape, Flying Sword, Dragon Breath, or similar Gu.