One fine morning, as the morning soon had barely crested the horizon, the guard towers around Gu Yue village suddenly erupted in alarm.
"Three thousand strong!"
"Call everyone! Everyone!"
Back during his first life, Fang Yuan had been a logistics Gu Master and as such had not been committed to the front lines. Now though, he was standing alongside the other elders as the Rank 2 Gu Masters reached the great wall surrounding the village, using their gu worms to strengthen the wall.
Those who were more adept with fighting began flinging attacks, most of which were moonblades of varying strength out at the wolves snapping their fangs and jaws, eager for a piece of human flesh.
Most of the rank-and-file wolves so to speak had their ribs showing, a sign that things were not going well when it came to food for them. They clashed against the Gu Masters who also looked weary, many of who had already been worn down by the tide.
Human or wolf, heaven did not spare anyone. Life was a battle for survival from start to finish.
Behind the swarm of the ordinary grunts stood the Bold Lightning Wolves which were Hundred Beast kings, and behind them stood three Thousand Beast Kings, Frenzy Lightning Wolves. Those three had not made their move yet, but were instead waiting in reserve.
In much the same way, Fang Yuan and the other elders were standing at the back, behind the wall of Gu Masters, waiting for when the first line would break and they would see some action.
Fang Yuan contributed greatly during the fighting, being the savior of many low-ranking Gu Masters. Unlike the other elders, he had nearly unlimited Rank 3 primeval essence by this point, and even the Blood Moon Gu was quite formidable when stacked one upon the other in the fashion that Fang Yuan could do so.
While he was showered with praise, he was actually slightly annoyed. Not at the fighting itself, he was more than used to that, it was the fact that the fighting had delayed him from heading to where he actually wanted to go.
He could still feel the small tugging upon his soul which guided him to his destination- to where the Crimsonhoof Deer was.
He had enslaved its mother, and to his surprise, the deer had survived up till this point. The deer pack by itself was thinned down to the bare bones, but at least a small group of them had survived.
Fang Yuan would check upon them periodically to monitor the Crimsonhoof Deer's growth. Not only that, but he would often feed it or wrap it in blankets made of his clothing, so that it would grow acclimatized to his scent.
While it was rather wary at him initially, by now, he had established something of a rapport with it.
It had reached the status and power of a Hundred Beast King, but would need at least two more years by his estimates to reach the rank of a Myriad Beast King which was its true potential.
That was not to say that he did not have gains from visiting it up until now.
Several wild gu worms had already begun to live on its body, and he recognized one, refining it with the aura of the Rank 4 Hundred Li Earthwolf Spider.
Three Steps Fragrant Grass Gu!
It was only Rank 2, but was still a useful gu worm, allowing one to travel in nearly any direction practically instantly. Because it was a grass gu worm, it could be fed easily just like the Nine Leaf Vitality Grass, and there was no issue with him taking it with him.
Although he technically did have the Hundred Li Earthwolf Spider to act as a mount, it was only really useful for fleeing and could not be used in combat to weave and swerve like a true movement gu worm.
He could advance this to the Ten Steps Fragrant Grass Gu, which was Rank Three, though that would take him some time given the strain on resources with the ongoing wolf tide. Even for an elder, gu refinement was not easy especially given the higher rate of failure with Rank Three gu worms.
With the sound of wolves nearby, the small herd of deer immediately bounded away. Fang Yuan also had no intention of sticking around, though he moved in the opposite direction of the deer herd.
After all, when given a choice, the wolves would naturally go for the numerous deer rather than Fang Yuan. The Crimsonhoof Deer would likely survive no matter what, and even if it didn't, naturally Fang Yuan would not place its well-being above his own.
He encountered almost no resistance for a distance of two li, until he spotted some figures in the distance.
He had no gu worms to enhance his eyesight, but even from here he could make out the frostiness that coated the grass where one of the figures pounced. This figure was chasing the others, who were doing their best to try to get away from it.
'What a drag,' Fang Yuan thought, changing course. He had no intention of courting either Bai Ning Bing or death. However, as he took three steps in the other direction, he noted that one of the figures that Bai Ning Bing was chasing looked somewhat familiar.
It wasn't until he turned around and saw that one of the figures that was running away suddenly turned around, and then grew three times as large.
Fang Yuan's pupils dilated. How had these two groups met out here in the wilderness? The butterfly effect had to be at work here, else they wouldn't have crossed paths.
Fang Yuan had not forgotten about the missing that might give him a Yellow Golden Relic Gu- something that could greatly bridge the gap between him and the other Rank 4 Gu Masters of Qing Mao mountain. Of course, he couldn't complete the mission if Qing Shu was dead.
Not only that, but he could get rid of a big headache, that was to say, Bai Ning Bing so long as he cooperated with Qing Shu.
As if he was going to let an opportunity pass up!
Fang Yuan changed direction, heading towards Qing Shu.
The two of them were locked in a deadly battle, with Qing Shu's Wood Charm Gu showing its full effectiveness at being able to hold off even the Rank Three Bai Ning Bing. However, this was only going to be a temporary reprieve for him, given that the more he used his power, the more likely it would be that he would transform into a tree.
That was what had caused his death in Fang Yuan's first life, after all.
Qing Shu's arms, which had grown into large vines which were rapidly being frozen and shattered like panes of glass by Bai Ning Bing's ice elemental gu worms, got a sudden reprieve by the Rank 3 attack.
However, the effect of the Blood Moon Gu was not as much as Fang Yuan had been expecting. It was likely that Bai Ning Bing had used a type of gu worm to convert most of his body into ice, greatly weakening the effect that the Blood Moon Gu would have.
"You!" Bai Ning Bing said, retreating ten paces but still emitting an intense killing aura.
"Yes, it is me," Fang Yuan said. He turned to Qing Shu, who looked shocked but still relieved to see him. It was clear that the man had been on his last legs and would've quickly been finished had Fang Yuan not come. As an answer to Qing Shu's bewildered expression, Fang Yuan said, "What can I say, Brother Qing Shu? Heroes have a tendency to always arrive at the last moment."