"Teacher, does this mean that you really, truly are leaving?" Sheng Xin Ci asked. "...and so soon at that?"
To her, it seemed like Fang Yuan had only come back to Shang Clan City yesterday, and he was already talking about leaving. And he wasn't just leaving the city for a small trip, either. He was leaving the Southern Border entirely, heading off towards the Western Desert. That may as well have been a different planet for her.
In reality, he had been in Shang Clan City for a few days, but they might as well have been seconds to Sheng Xin Ci, especially as he was so wrapped up in what he was doing that she rarely, if ever, got to see him.
"Yes, unfortunately I must go," Fang Yuan said, laughing. "You have to understand this from the point of view of an Immortal. The world of Immortals is entirely different from that of mortals. There's a reason why you don't see many of your Shang Clan Supreme Elders in the city. That is because they are busy with their own issues. Issues that are hard for mortals to comprehend."
Shang Xin Ci still wasn't fully clear on just what it was that Immortal cultivation entailed, but from what she understood from Fang Yuan, Immortals had to take deep care of their apertures and manage several of the resource points. This tended to consume a massive portion of their time.
Being mortal, she had naturally thought that Immortals were invincible. However, it seemed like advancing from Rank 5 to Rank 6 didn't necessarily remove all of one's worries like one would assume. It was just that as one's strength increased, the problems they faced also increased proportionately as well.
"But you've made good progress," Fang Yuan said. "I am happy to see that."
Shang Xin Ci was already nearing Rank 3 Middle Stage. Even though she had started out with low-grade aptitude, she had the backing of the Shang Clan behind her and currently had B-grade talent, thanks to a talent-raising Gu worm Sheng Yan Fei had bought her. On top of that, she had been showered with things such as primeval stones from her father. Rank 3 was a massive milestone. If she had grown up outside of the Shang Clan, she would have been an elder in a clan by this point already.
The Accumulate Virtue Gu that Fang Yuan had gifted her as her Vital Gu had also advanced along with her cultivation. It was Rank 3 currently. Every time that Shang Xin Ci did selfless acts, it was fed and also grew stronger, accumulating the virtues of her deeds, which it imbibed within itself. In truth, it was the perfect kind of gu worm for someone like Shang Xin Ci to have.
"To help you out in your journey even further, take this little present from me. Consider it a parting gift." Fang Yuan handed her a gu worm which looked like a small flame. It exuded a Rank 3 aura.
"What kind of gu worm is this, Teacher?" Shang Xin Ci asked. She hadn't seen anything like this, nor had she heard of a description of a gu worm like it. If Fang Yuan was handing it to her, though, it must have been quite rare or important.
"This is Rank 3 Ambition Gu," Fang Yuan said.
"Ambition Gu?" Shang Xin Ci said. Her eyes flashed. "Father told us about these. It's a new kind of gu worm that can help Gu Masters break through major realms! He promised that if some of us continued to work hard, we might be able to get one of these."
"Indeed, they're very rare and difficult to obtain," Fang Yuan said. "Some mysterious person began producing and selling them in the immortal world. It was very difficult to get my hands on one of them. And naturally, I have to reserve a bit of them for my Gu Yue clansmen."
In reality, he hadn't handed over a single Ambition Gu to anyone within the Gu Yue Clan. After all, if he was too prolific with handing them out, people might suspect that he was secretly the one producing the Ambition Gu in the first place. Being a lone Immortal, how could he possibly afford something that the top dogs were fighting over?
That said, he did eventually intend to hand them out to the Gu Yue Clan - just not right now. As time passed on and Ambition Gu became more popular and more widely spread, its price would also fall. By that point, Fang Yuan's profits would also begin declining, but they would eventually stabilize. Ambition Gu were consumable gu worms, after all, which would ensure that there would always be a small degree of demand for them.
Rank 3 Ambition Gu were still accessible to many people, which was why he felt that there was no danger in handing Shang Xin Ci one and upstaging her father in giving her one first.
"Once you get to Rank 3 Peak Stage," Fang Yuan explained, "you can use it and it will block the regeneration of the crystal walls of the aperture for three days. Even with a B-grade talent, even if your family doesn't manage to find another talent-raising gu worm for you, Xin Ci, you'll be able to reach Rank 4 Initial Stage."
Shang Xin Ci's eyes nearly began sparkling as she clutched the gu worm in question. It had already been pre-refined by Fang Yuan, so she did not need to waste time or primeval essence refining it either.
"Ah, teacher, sometimes I think that you're spoiling me. To be able to get to Rank 4 is-" she trailed off.
Most of the Shang Clan elders were at Rank 4. The Young Masters and those who were competing for the Young Master positions were usually around Rank 3. Even amongst the Shang Clan, someone who was Rank 4 could still carry considerable weight. And Shang Xin Ci was a member of their family. If she had been an outsider, she still could have become an External Elder like Wei Yang, Yi Huo, or Wan Qian Shan. But being from their bloodline, she could directly get access to many of the benefits in the Shang Clan once she got to that level. She would no longer need to compete as fiercely as she needed to right now.
"What do I need to feed this gu with?" Shang Xi Ci asked.
"Don't worry about feeding it," Fang Yuan said. "It is a first-class gu worm, as expected of gu mentioned in The Legends of Ren Zu. It simply feeds upon the feelings of human ambition, which is abundant here in Shang Clan City. Continue working hard and try to get to Rank 3 Peak Stage. Once you go beyond that, you may be able to find yet another talent-raising gu worm. Remember that clans only invest in those they find worthy of investment. That means that you need to already be strong to avail of those benefits fully. Once you start accumulating strength, it will be like a snowball rolling downhill growing increasingly bigger and bigger. Eventually, as you continue advancing in cultivation, I'm sure that you'll be able to reach Rank 5 like your father. When that happens, you may get the chance to become an Immortal and advance to Rank 6."
"Rank 6…" Shang Xin Ci said, her eyes misting over as she imagined that. The gap between mortal and Immortal was unfathomable, especially to someone like her who had just started cultivating. What Fang Yuan was describing to her seemed more like a dream than something that she could actually achieve in reality.
"Ah, I don't know if I would be able to reach that point," she said, voicing her hesitation and wariness aloud. She wouldn't do so in the presence of many others. The appearance of strength was almost as important as strength itself. This sort of masquerade had annoyed and confused her when it came to politicking. But before Fang Yuan, she felt like she could be open with what her true feelings were.