Фан Юань медленно взмыл в небо.
Улетая, он ещё раз посмотрел вниз, на величественный Облачный Город.
На его лице появилось горькое выражение, он глубоко вздохнул, прежде чем развернуться и улететь прочь.
В прошлый раз он принял задание Земляного Духа Ланья — исследовать Тайцю, что очень обрадовало того, и обе стороны остались довольны. Но на этот раз Фан Юань категорически отказался, не приняв задания по борьбе с Падающей Звёздной Собакой, и они расстались в напряжённой обстановке.
Внутри Облачного Города Земляной Дух Ланья сидел на главном месте, стискивая зубы.
Он с трудом сдерживал гнев, поднял чашку, но не успел сделать глоток огненно-радужного чая, как швырнул её с грохотом на кирпичный пол.
— Фан Юань, этот тип! — Земляной Дух Ланья сжал кулаки, стискивая зубы, испытывая сильное недовольство.
Однако он также уловил выражение на лице Фан Юаня перед уходом, и гнев в его сердце немного утих.
— Фан Юань, Фан Юань... Возможно, ты действительно очень занят, усердно культивируешься, у тебя есть свои планы и расчёты. Но это дело касается грандиозного плана развития моего Секты Ланья, а ты — член этой секты. В столь важный момент почему ты не можешь пожертвовать собой ради интересов секты? В конце концов, ты всё равно чужак! Не из наших毛民 Гу Святых!
При этой мысли Земляной Дух Ланья прищурил глаза, в которых мерцал холодный блеск.
Находясь на его позиции, если Фан Юань не желал принимать это задание секты, Земляной Дух Ланья не мог применять силу.
Он основал Секту Ланья, и завет секты связывал всех её членов. Но в завете не было положения, которое разрешало бы принуждать члена секты выполнять задания, которых тот не желал. Разумеется, когда Секта Ланья сталкивалась с серьёзной угрозой, это правило больше не действовало.
Но сейчас Секта Ланья лишь исследовала Тайцю, что не имело отношения к серьёзной угрозе. Если Фан Юань не хотел, Земляному Духу Ланья действительно не приходило в голову хорошего решения.
Земляной Дух Ланья не мог усидеть на месте, он поднялся и began pacing back and forth in the reception hall.
Hands clasped behind his back, head bowed in deep thought, the vexation and irritation in his heart caused his brows to furrow more tightly. "If Fang Yuan is unwilling to act, what should be done about the Falling Star Dog matter?"
After much deliberation, he came up with no good solution.
Langya Earth Spirit himself absolutely had no method. Leaving the Langya Blessed Land was out of the question.
There was one other method: the ancient battle formation, the Tianpo Suoluo.
But Langya Earth Spirit possessed the most critical formation Gu Immortals. In the current situation where the Liantai Gu Immortal House was damaged, this was a powerful means to protect the Langya Blessed Land.
Langya Earth Spirit did not want to easily entrust the Tianpo Suoluo away just because of this situation. What if something unexpected happened?
Langya Earth Spirit's awareness on this point was still very clear.
"Sigh! Should I really follow those words of advice Fang Yuan gave before leaving? Perhaps I should treat this Falling Star Dog as a whetstone to hone the combat skills of our毛民 Gu Immortals?" Langya Earth Spirit looked up and sighed deeply.
Fang Yuan flew swiftly through the air, his robes fluttering in the wind.
Howling winds rushed towards his face, the sound of the wind roaring in his ears.
His heart was as cold as ice.
The bitter smile and deep sigh from earlier were merely an act.
Fang Yuan knew well: within this Langya Blessed Land, Langya Earth Spirit could achieve near-omniscience, his sensing and scouting abilities being extraordinarily powerful. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to collect so many lifespan Gu.
This was also because the Langya Blessed Land had an extremely long history. Its foundations were incredibly rich, with innumerable Dao Marks. This allowed Langya Earth Spirit to stand out exceptionally within this blessed land. Other Earth Spirits could not compare to him.
"My current plan is to rely on the Langya Sect to assist in my smooth cultivation. I am the chessmaster, and the Langya Sect is the chess piece I utilize. If I accept that mission, wouldn't I become a pawn on the front lines, risking my life for the Langya Sect?"
"Hmph! Taiqiu has attracted the attention of Heavenly Will and is extremely dangerous. I suspect Heavenly Will has already set traps, they just haven't discovered me yet. Being restrained by the ancient corpse, they have chosen to hold back rather than reveal themselves."
Fang Yuan was cautious; under these circumstances, he would absolutely not easily venture into Taiqiu.
He intended to cultivate the Dao of Transformation. He needed to refine Transformation Gu Immortals, kill desolate beasts to obtain immortal materials, and so on. But these matters did not require him to do them personally.
When the Langya Sect opened up Taiqiu, they would naturally obtain these things. Fang Yuan only needed to trade with sect contributions, remain securely in the rear, and cultivate in peace.
Never mind the danger, the potential traps set by Heavenly Will. Even if there were none, Fang Yuan did not intend to delay his cultivation for this!
The world was vast, and he was the greatest.
Fang Yuan's attitude was resolute.
He had already mentally prepared for today's unhappy parting.
"I will absolutely not run around serving the Langya Sect, but I also need to handle my relationship with Langya Earth Spirit well."
"The more often such disagreements arise, the worse my relationship with Langya Earth Spirit will become. If it reaches an extreme, Langya Earth Spirit might become unable to tolerate it and expel me from the sect, or even kill me."
"Moreover, in the short term, I still need to leverage the power of the Langya Sect. At the very least, for the imminent Second Earth Disaster, I will need to borrow his Water Path Gu Immortals."
Fang Yuan thought calmly, analyzing his current situation.
He had once clashed with the previous Langya Earth Spirit, causing their relationship to plummet to freezing point. This had been a mistake, and Fang Yuan reminded himself not to commit it a second time.
"Sometimes, if circumstances permit, lending a hand and putting in some effort is necessary."
"My relationship with the Langya Sect is purely one of utilization, aimed at facilitating my own cultivation."
"Only by becoming strong myself, by increasing my cultivation, is the most reliable."
Heavenly Will could influence all aspects, everything under heaven and earth. But the degree of influence had its limits. Heavenly Will was not like False Will, which could directly interfere with the collision of thoughts in one's mind and distort the thinking results of a living being.