Fang Yuan did not mention Ambition Gu - something which if he used, he could get Fang Zheng to Rank 5 and Qing Shu to Rank 4 in a matter of a week. But Fang Yuan couldn't do that. Ambition Gu were currently very rare and difficult to obtain even for super forces. Fang Yuan had to pretend to be an ordinary recently-ascended Immortal for now, meaning he had to put on a front that it was hard for him to get resources for the most part.
If he went around handing Ambition Gu out, suspicions might fall on him being the seller of Ambition Gu on Yellow Treasure Heaven. It might seem far-fetched but one could not underestimate Wisdom Path Gu Masters.
The easy solution was just to make and sell more Ambition Gu.
Once it became more common in the market it would be more reasonable to show he had obtained some.
"However, I will hand you this White Silver Relic Gu. This can compensate for your current deficiency when it comes to time. I want you to start taking on more responsibility - act as if you are the Clan Head for the most part. And Fang Zheng, I want you to start practicing more regarding your cultivation and Strength Path," Fang Yuan said.
Fang Zheng and Qing Shu nodded, but Fang Zheng couldn't help but say, "Big Brother, do you really need to go this evening? Can't you stay a few days longer?"
Fang Yuan chuckled before patting Fang Zheng gently on the shoulder. "I know that you're worried without me, but ultimately, I have to do this sooner or later. And this is not goodbye. Soon, the day may come when we can once again spend more time together, where you can fight alongside me."
The mood improved at those words.
To both of them, it seemed like Fang Yuan intended to nurture Fang Zheng into a Gu Immortal!
That would mean the clan would have two Rank 6 Gu Immortals, and from there, they could grow even further - perhaps several more Rank 6 Gu Immortals over the coming decades. It meant their clan really was ushering in a new era!
Fang Yuan let them believe this, if only to pacify and motivate the two of them. He did have his designs for Fang Zheng, but they were not what either of them were expecting.
"As it is, there are still things that I have to do before I leave," Fang Yuan said. "First of all, addressing the other villages..."
Fang Zheng had tried his best in order to spread word to the other villages, but that had been easier said than done. Without a doubt, they were all very much on guard given recent events, wondering if it was an attack from another village.
This wasn't helped by the fact that Fang Zheng's explanation, to many of them, made no sense whatsoever.
The reason that it made no sense to anyone with two braincells to rub was because, it was very blatantly false. It was only that Fang Zheng and the Gu Yue villagers by extension trusted Fang Yuan almost blindly by this point and also, they had no reason to suspect that Fang Yuan was plotting against them.
Such was not true for the Bei, Xiu, He, and Ye clansmen.
There were even those among them who thought that everything that had happened was a result of Fang Yuan's schemes. These people, while correct, had no logical foundation for basing such accusations on and so were treated like conspiracy theorists in much the way people from the Bai Clan were for claiming that there were chemicals in the water turning the frogs gay.
As such very few people took those people seriously.
Fang Yuan invited their elders near Gu Yue Village so that he could assuage any fears that they had.
"I won't subject all of you to a feast once more," Fang Yuan said to them. "However, given how it turned out it left a sour taste in my mouth. Please, feel free to help yourselves to some tea instead."
It was a simple setup, but there was a wide arrangement of teas on display. Some of them were of kinds the other elders had never seen before - sparkling like crystal while others were so opaque one couldn't see the bottom. Several of them had tendrils within the layers of the liquid itself that did not dissipate no matter how much it was shaken.
Once they took a few sips of this tea, many of the other elders felt like their hearts were now at ease.
Naturally their emotions had been in a state of disarray; they were all stressed out given recent events, but after just a few sips of tea they found that their minds were now tranquil.
"This tea is excellent, but I can't detect what the ingredients are."
"My heart feels as calm as the surface of a lake on a windless night..."
"Truly, I haven't tasted anything like this before!"
Fang Yuan chuckled. "Ah, this is my own signature Heart Soothing Tea. I'm glad that all of you enjoyed it."
This was the project that Fang Yuan had been working on overnight. It was tea made from various ingredients he had, mainly from the Emotion Lilies, and by working on Paradise Earth's recipe for the Soul Soothing Tea.
Many of the teas he had brewed were entirely experimental, but they were low-level teas with very few ingredients. These would form the foundation of what he would build upon in the future.
"We thank Lord Fang Yuan for this excellent tea..."
"No, no, it was nothing," Fang Yuan said while sneering inwardly. The reason that he had been able to make so many varieties was thanks to gains he had made while researching the effects of Emotion Path attacks on them before they died. In other words, this tea that they were greatly praising was the fruit of their own suffering - and the reason why their hearts were in disarray in the first place!
As a matter of fact, they were continuing in their roles as being dutiful guinea pigs for Fang Yuan's experiments. Some of the teas that he had concocted had greater effect than others, and some of them didn't work very well at all. Others had some drawbacks he hadn't seen initially like a lingering cloying aftertaste, but the majority of them worked well enough.
With this, Fang Yuan was able to explain to them what happened (the fake story that is) in far better terms than Fang Zheng could. Fang Yuan was an experienced charlatan, so it was easy enough for him to sell this kind of idea.
They calmed down quite a bit after he gave them some reassurance, as well as some promises of future cooperation between the various villages.
They would without a doubt, still be quite wary of the Gu Yue Village simply because of this disparity in strength. But what would that matter?
Fang Yuan truly had no wish of attacking them needlessly.
"Seeing how much your villages have been damaged because of recent events, I think that our Gu Yue Village can help out with the rebuilding efforts," Fang Yuan said.
These words froze the hearts of the other elders gathered at the occasion.
"Ah - no! We couldn't possibly ask for Lord Fang Yuan to do more than he's already done for us!"
"Indeed, we need to make sure that our juniors know that they have to work hard in order to rebuild the village, we can't allow them to become lazy."
"Don't worry for us, Lord Fang Yuan, we can handle everything on our own. As it is, the damage is but a scratch!"
All of them were already terrified of the Gu Yue villagers, so the idea of having the Gu Yue villagers come closer to their own villages, to possibly learn their secrets and even be involved in repairing their villages - they would basically become nothing but the Gu Yue Village's vassals in that case! It would lead to a complete and near-total erosion of their authority.
They may have been slightly addled by the tea, but they were also seasoned elders. Who would really believe that Fang Yuan only had benevolent intentions when he offered his 'help?'
And even if they did believe that, it didn't mean that the other villagers didn't harbor any ill intentions.
They had to refuse Fang Yuan's 'help' with every fiber of their being.