Wu Ji stepped forward in front of Fang Tian and faced the Gu Masters of the Wu Clan. Their entire team consisted of people who carried the bloodline of the Wu Clan, but being born into a super clan with only average talent did not mean much—at best, one would reach Rank Three, which was treated as the pillars of the clan, but nothing more than that. Although in medium and small clans, and even in some large clans, Rank Three Gu Masters were treated as clan elders and people of merit, in the Wu Clan they did not hold any special status.
Most of the Rank Three Gu Masters in their team possessed B-grade aptitude, which meant their primeval essence was limited when under attack. Thus, although their methods were comprehensive, they specialized in only one aspect, or at most two. They were not eccentrics like Fang Tian, nor battle maniacs like Wu Ji.
"Senior brothers, this shy and gentle young man here is called Fang Tian. He's a recent recruit to our clan, so don't try to bully him… although his body is weak, he can beat you all senseless."
Laughter spread among the four Gu Masters, and they took Wu Ji's words as a joke. Although their group had only been formed recently, they had already grasped what kind of person Wu Ji was and her manner of speaking. Thus, they treated this as just another one of her jokes.
"Ah, well, I'm an outsider and a strange one at that, but why does this situation feel somewhat embarrassing—having a woman speak on my behalf?"
Wu Ji raised a finger in approval and pointed at him with a smile.
"Come on, don't be shy. You're extremely fierce—don't put on that expression!"
Fang Tian was extremely gloomy and wanted to punch Wu Ji in the face, but he held himself back and spoke to her in a cold tone.
"Why don't we move? I'm barely restraining myself around you."
The expressions of the Wu Clan Gu Masters changed. Those words took on another meaning in their minds, forming a strange association. Their smiles turned into frowns toward Fang Tian and looks of disdain toward Wu Ji.
Fang Tian laughed and walked past Wu Ji to leave the city. The group followed behind him, while Wu Ji remained frozen in place. At that moment, a short and chubby Gu Master spoke to Wu Ji.
"Wu Ji, hurry up, or we'll leave you behind. Don't be so embarrassing. You're sharp-tongued too, and this kid looks like you've met your match… hahaha!"
The chubby Gu Master laughed loudly as he left the city with the others. Wu Ji followed them in silence, putting aside the thought of sparring verbally with Fang Tian.
After several hours, the group was riding on a large brown flying silkworm Gu that floated in the air like a cloud, heading north toward the border between the Wu Clan and the Yang Clan. Below them, the dense forests of the Southern Border stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with small rivers and lakes. The forests beneath them had large leaves shaped like uneven squares, layered at different heights. From time to time, one could glimpse groups of beasts resting in the shade of the trees.
Fortunately, they had not encountered any flying beasts yet. Even though they had already spent hours traveling, they would not reach the border with the Yang Clan for another two or three weeks. This was only because they were flying—if they had traveled on foot, it would have taken six or seven weeks to arrive.
Wu Ji wiped the sweat from her forehead as she looked down at the forests below and quickly spoke to Fang Tian.
"Fang Tian, take over for me in using this Gu worm. Pay attention to your primeval essence level—this Gu is extremely gluttonous."
Fang Tian nodded calmly. The reason for his calmness was the Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu. Under the amplification of the Dao marks of the Limitless Samsara Forest Physique, the Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu surpassed the limits of Rank Three and displayed an astonishing effect in restoring primeval essence. This was a huge advantage that Fang Tian exploited to fight without restraint. In this situation, however, it functioned like a battery that generated primeval essence.
Wu Ji lent him the Gu worm, and Fang Tian poured his primeval essence into it. Thirty percent of his primeval essence was consumed instantly, and the surface of his primeval sea continued to drop. However, the Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu produced a new amount of primeval essence, causing the level of his primeval sea to rise rapidly. Combined with his natural recovery speed, Fang Tian was simply relaxed.
The flying silkworm Gu was massive, giving the six-person group enough space to lie down and roll around while enjoying the cool wind. Fang Tian made himself comfortable, lying on the back of the silkworm while looking at Wu Ji sitting cross-legged, holding primeval stones and recovering her essence.
Sensing his gaze, Wu Ji opened her eyes and returned his look.
"How many teams did the clan send out?… As far as I know, there were forty teams the same size as ours that set out when the mission was issued. But how many of them will catch up to us?"
Wu Ji replied after some thought.
"Honestly, I don't know. Although the Yang Clan is also a super force, it can barely compete with our Wu Clan… but this movement has some reasons behind it, perhaps greed for the clan's distant resource points."
One of the Gu Masters in their group interrupted when he heard their conversation.
"I heard from one of the elders that the Yang Clan is moving in coordination with the Ba Clan toward the northwest."
Fang Tian and Wu Ji turned their heads toward the Gu Master who spoke. Wu Ji asked in surprise,
"The Ba Clan?! Why would they head toward our borders? This is simply unjustified. The Ba Clan has no bordering territory with us, and more than that, the Chai Clan and the Yang Clan lie between us, along with the Red Dragon River!"
"Well, you all know about the grievances between the Ba Clan and our clan. We've been suppressing them for a long time, and now they've risen up for some reason."
The situation in the Southern Border was as follows: the Wu Clan dominated the righteous path of the Southern Border with an iron grip and was extremely arrogant, suppressing most of the other super clans. Because of this, uprisings and alliances among these clans would occur from time to time, aiming to take a bite out of the vast territories of the Wu Clan.
Fang Tian continued pouring his primeval essence into the white silkworm Gu in a relaxed manner, showing no signs of running out of primeval essence. This caught the attention of Wu Ji and the other Gu Masters, but none of them dared to ask. Wu Ji, however, was a little different from them and had a deeper connection with him.
"You don't seem to need to recover your primeval essence. I noticed this in our fight as well. Although I forgot about that Wood Charm Gu, this still doesn't seem right."
Fang Tian turned his head and gave Wu Ji a mysterious smile, saying only:
"Take a guess."
"You little brat, trying to act mysterious when you don't even understand… Let's see, there are several Gu worms that help recover or store primeval essence. Maybe you have something like Beggar Moth Gu, Grass Skirt Gu, or Air Fish Gu. What else… there's also Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu, but that one is extremely precious."
Fang Tian did not confirm anything she said. He simply turned his head away and focused on controlling the flow of his primeval essence.