Despite trying to find the Crimsonhoof Deer to see if he could tame it or get a few more gu worms, Fang Yuan had been unsuccessful. His scouts had found nothing and he couldn't really go out to search himself.
As it was, it was likely that the Crimsonhoof Deer was hiding alongside its herd and waiting for the wolf tide to wane, assuming that it had survived up until now.
He had therefore been forced to go ahead without it.
'This should work,' Fang Yuan thought to himself as he put the finishing touches on his project.
He had managed to take his earlier killer move and then assembled it into a Gu House. The Gu House consisted of a large wooden wheel with iron spokes. The gu worms were placed inside it. It was small enough that he could carry it in one arm, but still large enough to carry the twelve gu worms he had placed inside.
'Now to see if this will work,' Fang Yuan thought.
He had not had as much time or as many resources as he would have liked to complete the Gu House. In terms of Gu Houses, it was quite simple in terms of design and number of gu worms used - but he was not trying to match the strength of an Immortal here, just a Rank 5 Gu Master. And anything more complex would've been impossible for him to make with what he was working with. However, it still had three Rank 4 gu worms at its core, and with the support of multiple other gu worms, it could easily even threaten those like the Sky Crane Lord or the first generation ancestor.
The only issue, Fang Yuan thought, is the fact that this was only one killer move. Gu Houses could usually do multiple things, but he had only been able to design this to do one.
If his enemies managed to find a counter for it, it would be an issue. With that said, he had to first see if he could even use it properly.
Even with all of his primeval essence at Rank 4 Peak Stage right now, he could only sustain the move for four seconds.
He injected his primal essence into the wheel as it advanced forward, shooting out crimson moonblades from its rim as it rotated, also possessing the ability to fly for short durations of time and protect itself slightly from physical strikes.
After the time was up, Fang Yuan could no longer maintain it, and it collapsed onto its side.
However, he was not disappointed, because this meant that the combination even though not ideal, was successful.
Not many people could create a killer move on their first try, but it was possible here simply because of the simplicity of gu worms involved and because of Fang Yuan's attainment level. 'What should I call this Gu House?' he thought to himself, spinning the wheel around his arm.
It reminded him to some extent of the Battle Bone Wheel, which was a Rank 5 gu worm that was part of a Gu House called White Bone Chariot. It had been quite a famous Gu House as despite only having mortal gu worms, it was able to to match a Rank 6 gu worm in terms of offensive power!
The gap between Rank 4 and Rank 5 was not as large as the gap between Rank 5 and Rank 6, which is why it was much easier for Fang Yuan to create a Rank 4 Gu House that could eclipse Rank 5 in strength. This Gu House was stronger and faster than the Blood River Python, though its expenditure of primeval essence was also much higher.
He had thought of creating his own version of the White Bone Chariot in the past which he intended to call the Blood Chariot, though he had managed to find the recipe for the Spring Autumn Cicada before he could make any significant progress towards this goal.
With this in mind, he decided upon a name - Blood Chariot Wheel!
In the future, perhaps this invention could go towards creating a genuine Rank 5 Blood Path Gu House that could rival a Rank 6 offensive gu worm. Even if he didn't intend to pursue the Blood Path as his main path in this lifetime, since the Human Path did not conflict with other path's dao marks he could still work on a potential
Now, so long as he managed to deal with first gen Gu Yue, he had a method of countering the Sky Crane Lord.
Working on this Gu House had reminded him of his days as a Blood Path Gu Immortal, dwelling and ruminating on new recipes for Blood Path gu worms as well as mortal killer moves. While the Blood Sea Inheritance had been what started him on his path, it was through experience and meticulous experimentation that he had been able to build upon this foundation.
He had prepared another mortal killer move during this time, using 'Hope of the Clansmen' as a foundation.
As he left his private residence, he saw that there was a festive mood around the village. They had no idea about the bloodshed that was soon to follow. Fang Zheng, who was at Rank 2 Peak Stage now, would need some Rank 4 primeval essence in his aperture if he was to be given the Traveling Son Gu.
This would cause damage to his aperture, to the point that Fang Yuan would have to hold off on advancing him to Rank Three until he got his hands on a Cleansing Aperture Gu. Still, Fang Zheng was only useful to him so long as he was still alive.
He had already told the Bai and Xiong clans that he wanted to have a large-scale competition between the three clans. The other clan heads feared his sudden rise to power- he was Rank 4 Peak Stage meaning that without a doubt, Gu Yue village was still the strongest of the villages on Qing Mao mountain.
Their greatest fear was that he might one day break through to Rank 5- were that the case, they truly would be finished and have no choice but to submit to the Gu Yue clan's yoke.
They likely were wondering why it was that Fang Yuan wanted them to gather for a show of strength- whatever their speculations were though, they were all wrong.
Fang Yuan wanted them to appear simply because their appearance and intermingling among the Gu Yue villagers would mean that there were even more meat shields to draw away Lord Sky Crane's firepower.
Between the first gen Gu Yue and Lord Sky Crane, Fang Yuan estimated that the latter was stronger by simple nature of Enslavement Gu Masters in general being stronger in many battles so long as they didn't expose themselves, and the fact that first gen Gu Yue was a zombie.
It was fine if first gen Gu Yue died, that was what Fang Yuan was banking on as it was, but he also needed him to weaken Lord Sky Crane so that he could then land the finishing blow. For that, it would be for the best that he drag along as many of the other clan's forces as possible. It would also save the lives of the Gu Yue clansmen, which was not only important for the system to continue giving him Human Path dao marks but also for his killer moves.
He had invited the other clan heads to this contest as well, stating that he would also be making an appearance. With two Rank Four Gu Masters dragging the fight along, even Lord Sky Crane couldn't just come barging in unobstructed.
***
The villagers slept easily now that the howls of wolves were far less frequent. The mortals would be leaving back towards their villages, and soon life would return to normal.
Mo Chen and Chi Lian both vowed to uncover the secret behind Fang Yuan's meteoric cultivation rise once that happened.
Fang Zheng was calculating how best to break through to Rank Three.
Yu Sai and Li Mei were sitting together by a fire, admiring the stars above them.
"It really is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" Li Mei asked.
"Yes," Yu Sai said. He almost ended up adding 'but not as much as you'- but held off on it.
He already knew that Li Mei was smitten with Fang Yuan, and no matter how much he tried, he knew that was a height that he could never reach.
He wanted to tell her his feelings anyway, but couldn't find it in himself to do so now. What if it made things awkward between them? They had just become friends.
'Later on,' he told himself. Now that the wolf tide was over, he would have all the time in the world to find the right time to confess to her.