Qi Zai's mind was in turmoil, his thoughts surging back and forth, and his expression grew solemn as a result.
Fang Yuan's brows were furrowed as well.
The Yin energy he had shredded moments ago with the Flying Sword Gu had already reverted to its original state in the blink of an eye.
The deep green Yin energy tendrils lashed out toward Fang Yuan once more, determined to ensnare him with relentless persistence.
"The Flying Sword Gu is powerful, but it's not well-suited against enemies that can freely gather and disperse." A flash of insight crossed Fang Yuan's mind.
He had felt the same way when fighting the desolate mud beast earlier.
Now, facing a Qi Path Gu Immortal, that same feeling resurfaced once more.
Of course, this was also because he lacked the relevant killer moves.
If he had a Sword Path killer move that could supplement the Flying Sword Gu, spreading its attacks outward instead of concentrating them on a single point, this problem would be easily solved.
In truth, Fang Yuan had already anticipated this kind of situation.
That was why he had used the Sword Escape Immortal Gu to make a wise retreat.
But he hadn't expected the opponent to possess a movement killer move that could keep up with him.
Fang Yuan was forced onto the back foot.
Earlier, during the probing phase, he had gained the upper hand with his endless stream of Mortal Path killer moves.
But now that they had switched to Immortal Gu and Immortal Path killer moves — getting serious — he was inevitably at a disadvantage.
After all, his opponent was a Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal, with cultivation far surpassing his own.
It was only natural that Fang Yuan couldn't win.
To have fought his way to this position was already no small feat.
"I only have two Immortal Gu, while my opponent is at the Seventh Transformation, with higher cultivation and more means. If he has an Immortal-grade battlefield killer move, even with my Flying Sword Immortal Gu, breaking through would be nearly impossible. I cannot stay here!"
Sword Escape!
Fang Yuan activated the Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu once more and shot into the sky.
"Heh, quite the sharp one." Qi Zai snorted coldly.
His combat specialty was attrition warfare.
When the Yin energy tendrils were shredded, the energy would disperse and spread outward. As time passed, the entire battlefield would increasingly tilt in favor of the Qi Path.
By then, not only would Qi Zai be able to unleash Immortal Gu with greater speed and power, but his Immortal Essence consumption would decrease accordingly. Only benefits, no drawbacks — truly remarkable.
But Fang Yuan merely exchanged a single blow before immediately retreating, swiftly relocating.
Fire one shot, then move to a new position.
This completely denied Qi Zai the chance to accumulate any advantage.
Gu Masters had limited mobility, often confined to a single location. But Gu Immortals could traverse the azure skies and roam thousands of miles — a vast difference from ordinary Gu Masters. Thus, defeating a Gu Immortal was easy, but killing one was far more difficult, unless one possessed an Immortal-level battlefield killer move to trap them.
However, deploying such battlefield killer moves also required time. When Gu Immortals fought each other, they could only lay them out in secret under the opponent's nose, and their methods had to be discreet enough to succeed.
Or, as Fang Yuan had done when dealing with Hei Cheng — prepare the battlefield killer move in advance, then lure the enemy into it.
Though Fang Yuan had fled, Qi Zai possessed an Immortal-level movement technique that allowed him to pursue swiftly.
Fang Yuan had slaughtered the entire Ni clan. This territory was Qi Zai's responsibility. If he simply let Fang Yuan go, he would have a hard time explaining himself when he returned.
More importantly, Qi Zai was worried that Fang Yuan might be a remnant of one of the other four families.
This concerned the Thousand-Year Bet. The Qi family was on the verge of victory, and at this critical juncture, absolutely nothing could go wrong.
Therefore, Qi Zai had to get to the bottom of this matter.
He would not let it go.
After Fang Yuan had fled for only a short while, he discovered that Qi Zai was catching up.
"How deep is this grudge? Why is he chasing me so relentlessly?" Fang Yuan was thoroughly exasperated.
In his memories from his previous life, the Ni clan had no Gu Immortal elders whatsoever. That was why Fang Yuan had acted so freely. He never expected that it would actually attract a Gu Immortal pursuit — and not just one, but two: a Sixth Transformation and a Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal.
Fang Yuan speculated about Qi Zai's motivations, but found nothing useful. He knew absolutely nothing about the Five Phase Bet.
He could only fight while retreating.
Each time they clashed, he would deploy the Flying Sword Immortal Gu, exchange two or three rounds, then use the Sword Escape Immortal Gu to withdraw.
After several encounters, Fang Yuan gradually began to discern certain things.
"That Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal beside him — her demeanor is unusual. She seems to have advanced to Gu Immortal not long ago. She addresses the Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal as 'Seventh Grandfather.' They share a bloodline, so they must be relatives."
"That Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal shouldn't be a concern. If she were capable of fighting, she should have interfered and trapped me long ago. Yet throughout the entire battle, she's remained sitting in the rear, completely motionless."
Fang Yuan gathered considerable intelligence, and Qi Zai likewise deepened his understanding of Fang Yuan.
"This peculiar fellow really does seem to be a Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal. Heh — actually wielding two Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu…"
Qi Zai found himself at a loss for how to even evaluate this situation.
Generally speaking, most Sixth Transformation Gu Immortals don't even have a single Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu to their name. They crave one desperately.
The man before his eyes likewise lacked Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu, but he had vaulted an enormous gap — directly possessing two at the Seventh Transformation level.
"But you've overstepped by far too wide a margin. I'd very much like to see just how much Green Grape Immortal Essence you have left to fuel a Seventh Transformation Sword Gu!"
Qi Zai sneered inwardly.
He was already well-suited for wars of attrition. His cultivation was a full Transformation higher than Fang Yuan's, and Fang Yuan was burning through Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu far beyond his weight class. There was even less reason for him to rush now.
As Fang Yuan fought while retreating, Qi Zai advanced with every exchange — cunning, treacherous, and utterly tenacious.
Fang Yuan sensed the situation turning grim. "Since the battle began, I've already burned through tens of thousands of Immortal Yuan Stones. All of them were channeled through the Langya Earth Spirit — every last one charged against my sect contributions."
"This man has devised a clever scheme. He wants to grind down my Immortal Essence. The worst part is, I can see through his ploy completely, yet there's nothing I can do about it."
Had he been using Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu, Fang Yuan's sustained combat capability would have been far greater. He wouldn't have ended up in such a wretched predicament.
With only Sixth Transformation cultivation, operating Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu was genuinely straining him to his limits.
Qi Zai clung on relentlessly, and Fang Yuan couldn't shake him off. All he could do was hold the stalemate.
The two clashed more than ten additional times. To keep up appearances, Fang Yuan had no choice but to poison himself for short-term relief, continuously demanding more Immortal Yuan Stones from the Langya Earth Spirit.