"My brother gave it to me," Fang Zheng replied. He also had a defensive rank three Gu worm, but other than that, his other Gus were rank two. His vital Gu, the Four Flavors Liquor Worm, was useless to him in a fight.
With just him, Qing Shu, and a few other elders and Gu Masters there, it might seem that they were outmatched in terms of might. However, Fang Zheng had one trick up his sleeve, but he was waiting for the right time to use it.
"Let's go," Qing Shu said, hands digging into the dirt as vines began erupting. The bears scattered about and not in a single group, which was to their advantage. Two of the smaller groups were towards the left and right of the main formation, so to speak, and were being attacked by two teams of Gu Masters led by an elder. Qing Shu and Fang Zheng, along with some other Gu Masters, were dealing with the group in the middle.
Hopefully, the two 'wings' of the formation could be dealt with before the lunar bear had time to retaliate.
As the cries of bears erupted all over, those at the front were being torn apart and were being split in half by numerous Moonblades that were flying.
There was the hundred beast king, and Fang Zheng went to go intercept it. It was three times the size of the other bears, with massive fangs and claws that could easily swipe the roof of a house away in a single blow. As it lunged at Fang Zheng, vines suddenly erupted, stopping it as Fang Zheng took off one of its paws. The Chainsaw Golden Centipede cut through its thick flesh as if it was nothing.
Even if it had had a Rank Two defensive gu worm, it wouldn't have been able to do anything against the might of the Chainsaw Golden Centipede.
The Lunar Bear had not joined the fight directly but was instead rallying the other bears to its side. Unfortunately for it, about a third of them had already been killed before they could rally to it. A vine snapped the Hundred Beast King's neck. However, there was still another Hundred Beast King lurking around.
The bears died in large numbers. The Gu Masters had the benefit of organization, as well as the element of surprise. The bears also looked mostly malnourished, which could have possibly helped with their fighting strength. However, as the battle was going smoothly, or so it seemed, one of the bears suddenly screamed and then grew three times in size.
"Another Hundred Beast King!" someone yelled out. The Lunar Bear seemed to have been waiting for this as it now began entering the fray, which meant that the elders would have to come in and deal with it.
Or... did they?
"I think the time's right," Qing Shu said, nodding towards Fang Zheng, who whistled from the rear of the formation. Something leaped out and tackled the Lunar Bear. It was the Crimsonhoof Deer which Fang Yuan had left behind. Although Fang Yuan had removed several of its gu worms, more of them had been attracted to its body, and some had even advanced to rank four on their own.
One strike from its antlers made a massive gash in the Lunar Bear's body. It roared, the bears coming to reinforce it, but as they retreated, they were slaughtered from behind by the Gu Masters. Whatever gu worms it had on it could not save it from its demise. The difference in strength between the Crimson Hoof Deer and the lunar bear was just too great, even if Fang Zheng could not control it completely, it would not run away when it had such a territorial advantage.
The only thing which surprised them slightly was that the lunar bear had a gu worm which acted much like a Moonblade. However, it was green in color, a color none of them had seen before. They would have liked to have obtained that gu simply for the study and future development of this clan. However, it ended up fleeing into the wilderness before they could catch it.
With the battle over however, they returned back to Gu Yue village.
Yao Le personally came out and asked Fang Zheng if he was injured. "I'm not, but there are some other people in the rear that you might want to look at," Fang Zheng said. "Thankfully, casualties have been low." This was mainly thanks to the Crimsonhoof Deer's existence, otherwise at least one elder would've been injured.
"Oh, it's good to know that you're all right," Yao Le said before heading out to take care of the others. Yao Le had advanced to Rank 2 by now, and everyone said that she would soon become the new medicine hall elder. Fang Zheng himself did not doubt that, as it was clear that her skills were first class.
As things seemed to be going smoothly, however, early the next morning, Fang Zheng felt Fang Yuan contact him.
"What? He wants me to be there?" he wondered. This was an odd thing, but he sent a message to Qing Shu, letting him know that he would be gone and that this was a request from Fang Yuan.
Fang Zheng still had Traveling Son Gu while Fang Yuan had Doting Mother Gu - although they were Rank 4, Fang Zheng's Rank 3 essence was barely enough to activate it, taking him to where Fang Yuan was.
His primeval essence was completely gone as he found himself in the chamber alongside Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing.
"Brother, you called?"
"Yes, I happened to need your help," Fang Yuan said.
He handed Fang Zheng the book in question and explained how the refinement of Bone-Flesh Unity Gu went.
"Wait... it wants our flesh?" Fang Zheng wondered, quite concerned.
"I know that it might be painful," Fang Yuan said. "But think about it this way - what was more painful to you? Losing your aptitude, or being injured? Your injuries can be healed, but don't you want to advance to Rank 4?"
Fang Yuan could've forcibly taken some flesh from Fang Zheng, but the recipe also wanted a good relationship between the two Gu Masters who were refining it. Without a doubt, if it was just him and Bai Ning Bing, the result would not be good.
But it was possible that Fang Zheng still had some warm feelings towards him - meaning the result would be much better in that regard.
Fang Zheng thought about it. He had assumed he was one of the lucky few with an A-grade talent who would be able to soar through the skies easily, but these dreams had been dashed by Lord of the Mysteries. Even now, it was unclear if he could even get to Rank 3 Middle Stage if he didn't continue to have Equality Gu's help.
"Alright, let's do it!" Fang Yuan said.
"Take these primeval stones and recover your essence - Bai Ning Bing, it's best you step aside," Fang Yuan said. If she was added to the refinement mix, it was almost certain that they would get a bad result.
Once Fang Zheng was done recovering his primeval essence, Fang Yuan, in one swift motion, cut Fang Zheng's right arm off before tossing it in as gu refinement material.