Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing took the Hundred Li Earthwolf Spider and went to the other gate.
"What the hell was the point of all of that nonsense?" Bai Ning Bing yelled at him as they went on their way.
"What nonsense?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Everything about that girl," Bai Ning Bing said. Up until now, she had assumed that Fang Yuan was going around with Zhang Xin Ci for some underlying nefarious reason, as he tended to do.
However, once they had reached Shang Clan City, he had simply separated from her. This was, of course, a plot by Fang Yuan. Although he needed to be close to Zhang Xin Ci to steal the virtue she accumulated, the range was large enough that unless they were standing on opposite ends of the city it would still work.
Additionally, he did not want to be dragged into her father's schemes, not yet at least.
"Relax, isn't this the point of being righteous path cultivators? You should be kind to others and kinder to ourselves," Fang Yuan said.
Bai Ning Bing snorted as the gates drew near to them.
In the sky, a massive whale descended from the clouds, passing over the city walls and entering the city. There was a special type of flying whale that came from the Eastern Sea. The White Form Immortal Snake could not take that many passengers or cargo with it unless they were stored within multiple storage-type gu worms. However, such a whale could easily transport massive amounts of goods. Such animals required a large amount of feeding which was their main drawback. Most clans cannot afford the hundreds of kilograms of food that the whales would need on a daily basis.
The sight shocked Bai Ning Bing and she stopped pestering Fang Yuan for a moment while they walked up towards the gates.
The walls of the city had numerous arrest warrants plastered all over them, some of them overlapping with other warrants. Fang Yuan, from his experience, knew that this was only a superficial show.
If one was a demonic Gu Master, the best place to sell things was in Shang Clan City. The Tie Clan were true in their mission and would not trade with demonic Gu Masters, regardless of what the benefits might be. The Shang Clan, however, prioritized profits above all else, so long as one was not too unruly within the city and had not offended the Shang Clan directly, they would be allowed to pass through the walls with ease.
Not that Fang Yuan had to worry about this in his current life. He had been planning to visit here at some point during his journey. However, now that he had reached Rank 5 and may have been on the cusp of ascending to an Immortal, even Shang Clan City was far too small for him.
To Bai Ning Bing, however, who was essentially a countryside pumpkin, the sight must have been quite marvelous.
There were two guards stationed near the gate. The entry fee was ten primeval stones for one person. However, they paused upon noticing Fang Yuan's Rank 5 cultivation.
"Lord Gu Master," one of the guards said, very respectfully lowering his head slightly. "Have you been to Shang Clan City before?"
"No, I have not. My name is Gu Yue Fang Yuan, the Supreme Elder of the Gu Yue Clan."
These two guards had not heard of the Gu Yue Clan in the past, though if they searched the Shang Clan City's records, they would definitely find the name of the Gu Yue Clan mentioned somewhere even if it was just as a footnote.
However, why would ordinary guards bother with the name of a mid-sized clan like the Gu Yue?
Fang Yuan had only lifted them from obscurity recently, and word would not have traveled far out. The reason why the guards were being so respectful was because of Fang Yuan's Rank 5 cultivation. In Shang Clan City, Rank 3 cultivation, although no joke, was nothing extraordinary, either.
Most Shang Clan internal elders were either Rank 3 or Rank 4, and were they outside the Shang Clan, they would have ordinarily become clan heads at Rank 4. The clan head of the Shang Clan was a Rank 5 Gu Master.
Even then, Rank 5 Gu Masters were scarce enough that just by walking into the city, Fang Yuan knew that there would be quite a commotion.
But this was good, he felt.
When Shang Yan Fei learned about his daughter's existence, he would have sequestered anyone who had traveled with her for some time.
Fang Yuan did not want that, naturally. But a Rank 5 Gu Master could not be so easily contained. Also, for his plan moving forward it was for the best that he generate as much of a reputation around himself as possible.
"I see, Lord Gu Master. In case this is your first time visiting Shang Clan City, then please accept this token," Fang Yuan was offered a white token. Tokens came in nine different varieties, with black being the lowest and the purple thorn token being the highest.
White was just one rank above the bottom, being the second-lowest ranking token.
However, the fact that Fang Yuan could just walk into the city and be handed this was a big deal in and of itself. It was the Shang Clan's way of buttering him up and making him feel important. Only Rank 5 Gu Masters, after all, usually could trade in Rank 5 goods and find them in the first place. The value of such was often monumental, far eclipsing anything at Rank 4 level or below.
The white token also permitted two people to enter the city without having to pay any primeval stones as an entry fee, and the two of them walked in. The guards, meanwhile, sent a report towards the clan head stating that a Rank 5 Gu Master had come to visit them.
Fang Yuan accepted the white token. It was certainly better than nothing. However, he could not get everywhere he wanted within the city using just this.
There were still some goods that he would have difficulty procuring. However, there were many ways of getting a higher ranked token.
He had managed to obtain an orange token in his previous life, some time ago, but that had only been after fighting for several years in the battle arena.
Many people stopped to stare at the two of them as they walked through the streets.
Anyone who was a Gu Master would first notice Fang Yuan's Rank 5 aura, and then usually tap his neighbor on the shoulder.
"Do you know who that is?"
"No, I don't."
"I know all of the famous Rank Fives who come around here."
"He looks like a newcomer."
"A newcomer Rank 5?"
"Are you sure he isn't important?"
If they were not Gu Masters, they would've noticed Bai Ning Bing first. Her appearance was quite striking, as was her Rank 4 cultivation which was also nothing to sneeze at.
A Rank 5 and a Rank 4 moving together drew the attention of many people.
"I know of a good place to eat, let's go there first," Fang Yuan said.