Hearing that Fang Yuan wanted his Flying Sword Immortal Gu back, Chu Du smiled and immediately replied: "As long as we reach a deal, I will not only hand over the Flying Sword Immortal Gu with both hands, but also offer additional compensation. I'll make sure you're satisfied."
As if! He was obviously keeping the Flying Sword Immortal Gu. It was the perfect leverage to pressure his opponent. There was no way Chu Du would just hand it over.
Though his attitude was warm and courteous, his mind was calm and clear.
Fang Yuan chuckled, his face showing not a trace of disappointment or dejection.
He had already known the answer when he asked the question. His expression turned cold at once: "Chu Du, you have no sincerity at all! There's nothing more to discuss."
With that, he activated the Sword Escape Immortal Gu. In an instant, his body shot forward like a blade, piercing through heaven and earth, reaching the distant horizon in the blink of an eye.
"Immortal friend, please wait!" Chu Du's face changed and he hurried to give chase.
Fang Yuan streaked at a steep angle toward the distant sky. After flying for only a short while, Chu Du's figure appeared just several li behind him.
"An Immortal killer move..."
Fang Yuan glanced back and sensed that the Gu insect auras on Chu Du's body were incredibly varied.
It was clearly a force-type movement killer move, yet at the Seventh Transformation level, its straight-line speed actually surpassed that of the Sword Escape Immortal Gu!
Fang Yuan's heart sank. This situation was extremely unfavorable for him.
Honestly, he had placed most of his hopes on the Sword Escape Immortal Gu. After all, its speed was already tremendously fast—even ancient cloud beasts couldn't catch up.
He never expected that Overlord Immortal Chu Du actually had an Immortal killer move that was even faster than the Sword Escape Immortal Gu!
"Chu Du has probably been cultivating Gu Masters to immortality far beyond this one case I've seen. There must be others. Over the last century, he's surely been secretly absorbing considerable Berserking Force True Meaning. His depth in the force path is unfathomable, which is how he created such a force-type killer move."
"Since the Sword Escape Immortal Gu won't work, then I'll try Blood Drift."
Fang Yuan's mind raced and he immediately halted the sword escape. His body continued forward on inertia, but his speed rapidly decreased.
Then, a bloody light erupted from his entire body, enveloping him fully, transforming into a surging river of blood.
The blood river tore through the sky like a massive, slithering serpent of crimson. The stench of blood spread in all directions through the air.
Immortal killer move—Blood Drift. Successfully activated!
Fang Yuan immediately turned and flew toward the lower left.
The transition between the two moves was perfectly seamless. Even Fang Yuan himself was quietly satisfied: "Reducing the number of mortal Gu was the right call! This way, the chance of Blood Drift failing is even lower, and it activates faster. Of course, all those practice runs in my Immortal Aperture before played no small part."
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. His main attention remained firmly fixed on Overlord Immortal Chu Du.
When Fang Yuan suddenly changed direction, what would Chu Du do? That was undoubtedly the most critical question.
"If Chu Du can catch up, then I'll have no choice but to stop and haggle with him about the deal."
Fang Yuan was bracing for the worst. Then he watched as Overlord Immortal Chu Du shot forward with a thunderous roar, overwhelming in power, blazing straight past him in a straight line!
Fang Yuan froze.
His gaze followed Chu Du's trajectory and watched the latter barrel ahead like a steam train—charging at tremendous speed with incredible force, massive waves of air rippling in his wake along the entire path.
Only after blasting forward more than ten li did Chu Du's speed gradually decline until he came to a complete stop.
Then, he turned around and began accelerating once more, charging straight back toward Fang Yuan.
His speed climbed higher and higher, quickly reaching the previous level again—still faster than the Sword Escape Immortal Gu.
A gleam flashed through Fang Yuan's eyes. He immediately activated Blood Drift and changed direction once more.
And so he witnessed the same scene all over again.
Overlord Immortal Chu Du, in spectacular fashion—or rather, in spectacularly reckless fashion—went thundering past him once more.
Fang Yuan suddenly found it amusing.
He had previously worried that the Sword Escape Immortal Gu could only fly in straight lines, so he had brought out Blood Drift to compensate for this shortcoming.
He never imagined that this shortcoming, when it fell upon Overlord Immortal Chu Du, was even worse than his own!
The situation had shifted in an instant. Fang Yuan's mind raced, and he abruptly decided not to run anymore.
Escaping from here and shaking off Chu Du would be trivially easy for him now. As long as he was cautious, this was tantamount to being in an unassailable position.
"Interesting," Fang Yuan murmured to himself, and decided to continue negotiating with Chu Du.
When Chu Du saw Fang Yuan stop high in the sky and stop fleeing, his heart filled with elation.
"What a relief, what a relief! It seems this Flying Sword Immortal Gu in my hands really is useful after all. In the end, he just can't bear to part with it!"
Fang Yuan waited for Chu Du to fly over from a distance. Once he reached a certain range, Fang Yuan suddenly raised his palm: "Stop. Let's stay at this distance and talk."
Fang Yuan was cautious. Even though he had the advantage in mobility, it was still best to maintain a certain distance.
Chu Du immediately halted, flashing a smile that carried a rather sheepish air.
Fang Yuan goaded him: "Brother Chu's impressive bearing is truly a sight to behold! What is this killer move called? It's so formidable that even my Sword Escape Immortal Gu can't compare."
"This killer move is called Body Practice. I painstakingly developed it—it amplifies my speed based on the number of force path dao marks on my Immortal body. It does have one major drawback: it can only move in a straight line. Mid-flight, you absolutely cannot change direction, not even reverse. I don't practice it enough in normal times, so I've made a fool of myself today under pressure." Chu Du actually spoke frankly, admitting his shortcoming with an open and heroic bearing that was genuinely admirable.
Fang Yuan nodded, his expression turning serious: "Brother Chu's might is extraordinary. In everyday battles, who across the vast Northern Plains could ever force you to use this move just to retreat?"