Bai Ning Bing and Fang Yuan packed up some excess gu worms to sell back in Shang Clan City and then flew back on the White Form Immortal Snake. This time, there was a thunderstorm in their path, which caused them to seek shelter under a massive tree while it passed over them. But this only delayed them for a single evening as they set out afterward, finally arriving at Shang Clan City.
The two of them did not have to wait in the general queue - that was the proletariat after all, and regardless, at the simple feeling of Fang Yuan's Rank 5 aura most people parted anyway. Now that he had a Purple Thorn Token though, he could land directly within an area of the city.
Wei Yang was there within an hour to greet them and give them a warm welcome as the descended back towards their rooms and living arrangements.
"Senior Brother Fang Yuan! I was beginning to get worried when you weren't back by the time you indicated..."
It had taken Fang Yuan longer than anticipated to return, simply because he had been slightly stubborn with trying to refine the Moon Raiment - and once he had done so successfully he had to wait for enough Moon Orchid Petals to grow in order to keep it fed while traveling back to the city which was not an easy task. On top of which, they had been delayed upon returning.
"Well, matters back in our home were a bit harder to deal with than expected," Fang Yuan said but then gave a relaxing and gentle smile. "With that said though, matters have been settled nicely."
"I see that you have reached Rank 5 Middle Stage, that is good, is does look like things have been looking up for Senior Brother," Wei Yang said. He also noted that Bai Ning Bing was at Rank Four Initial Stage still, having not used her Gold Yellow Relic Gu, but did not comment on it.
"It took a while to refine the Purple Crystal Relic Gu, but it was done eventually," Fang Yuan said. "And how is my pupil, Shang Xin Ci?"
"The Young Lady is doing well," Wei Yang said. "I bet she is as overjoyed by your return as I am."
"Let her know that whenever she wants to start lessons, I'm ready," Fang Yuan said.
"I doubt she would want to burden Senior Brother so soon after such a long journey, but I will carry your words to her," Wei Yang said.
Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing settled in. There were some gu worms that they wanted to sell - Fang Yuan had still not parted with the Bone Flesh Lord's gu recipes either, but he felt the time to sell then to Shang Ya Zi was nearing day by day. As it was, he was in need of funds.
But before that, he turned his attention to a different matter.
The Rank 5 Scouting Hive Gu!
He had had great difficulty refining it before, having abandoned the project to focus upon other things, but now it was time to try again.
The Spring Autumn Cicada unleashed its Rank 6 aura, cowing the gu worm in question, but not suppressing it entirely.
This still made Fang Yuan's job far easier than it otherwise would have been as he began infiltrating it with Rank 5 Middle Stage essence.
Twice as concentrated as before, he began to make rapid progress. By the time he was done, he was 22% done refining this gu worm.
However, it was late at night, and he knew that while he slept the Scouting Hive Gu would continue to resist his efforts. His progress would likely reset to around 14% by the morning.
'This is quite tedious - I got used to the Spring Autumn Cicada dealing with such matters, but now I am mostly relying on my own strength. This will take a week of focused refinement, longer if I am interrupted,' he thought to himself. 'If I use Equality Gu to gain some of the Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique's power, I could maybe do it in five days though.'
If he used primeval stones, he could do it even faster. But while Fang Yuan was not stingy about using primeval stones ordinarily, he needed a vast amount in order to replenish his essence at Rank 5. Given that, and his huge need for funds for his further plans, he chose to simply deal with the problem in this way on his own.
The memory of struggling with the Moonlight Gu came back to him - but the fact that he could deal with a Rank 5 gu worm almost as easily as a ordinary Rank 1 Gu Master would deal with a Rank 1 gu spoke volumes to both how much the difference a minor realm and the Spring Autumn Cicada's help provided.
Two days later, Shang Xin Ci did visit him for their first lesson.
It lasted for about two hours as Fang Yuan gave her pointers into how to nourish the walls of her aperture, things that she mostly new already, but it was fine to give her a refresher. Far more important was the knowledge of gu worms that he gave her, particularly on how to use the Bone Spear Gu effectively.
Her talent was still at C-grade, that was the maximum that a forcefully opened aperture could be. However, Fang Yuan knew that her doting father would soon gift her with talent-raising gu worms as she progressed and she would soon become the pillar of the Shang Clan.
That would all take time - he though, wanted to accelerate things far faster than they had been during the original timeline.
As such, during his lesson he introduced subtle hints to Shang Xin Ci about the nature of the world. "If you have a strong gu worm, for example, you can instantly subdue a weaker gu worm using its aura. Much like in the real world - strength reigns supreme and the strong rule over the weak, who have no choice but to endure."
The last sentence was intended as nothing more than a throwaway comment to an onlooker, but was intended to encourage Shang Xin Ci to strike out on her own. Fang Yuan intended to help her in the Shang clan's Young Master competition, but she had to want to do that first. And she could only reach that point on her own. Fang Yuan could not put any excess pressure upon her.
With that said, such encouragement would take time to bear fruit, and once the lesson concluded he returned to refining the Scouting Hive Gu, their next lesson scheduled three days later.
He had lost a small amount of progress, with it going to about 20% being refined, but he went right back at it.
Bai Ning Bing, for that matter, had taken her chances in the battle arena. Although she had not finalized her gu worms as of yet, with her superior strength she easily dominated every single fight that she was in up until now. She had killed two combatants, with the third surrendering before the fight even started.
She had quickly realized though, that killing was in a way counterproductive, as keeping her enemies alive allowed her to take their gu worms. She needed primeval stones and was not dumb enough to take a loan from Fang Yuan. The easiest thing to do was to take the loser's gu worm, and then sell it right back to them on the spot. By doing so over and over, she could amass a great amount of wealth and finally complete the Rank 4 set she longed for.
Only a Rank 4 Gu Master, if that, could contend with her. They existed in the arena, but were not in the lower tiers where she was currently fighting.
Fang Yuan, over the next two days made progress and managed to refine about 60% of the Scouting Hive Gu. However, a development would quickly occur that would throw a wrench his plans.