Butterflies fluttered gracefully, dancing on their wings, flying high and low as their exquisite, elegant tails scattered specks of emerald-green light through the air.
Finally, one alighted lightly on the tip of Purple Violet Fairy's fair, slender index finger.
Purple Violet Fairy gazed at the jade-green butterfly before her with her deep eyes, smiled, and said softly, "This is the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu?"
"Indeed." An elderly Gu Immortal woman beside her answered expressionlessly.
The old woman hunched her back, bent deeply at the waist, her hair withered and yellow like straw, her face covered in wrinkles, her aged eyes dim and clouded.
She wore an earth-yellow robe, and a ring of fine yellow sand swirled and danced around her waist.
Purple Violet Fairy turned and said with sincere gratitude, "That a mere Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu would trouble you, Granny Sand, a Great Grandmaster of Refinement Path, to personally refine it — that is quite its honor."
As it turned out, this elderly Gu Immortal woman was also a member of the Heavenly Court, having only recently awakened.
Her cultivation had also reached the Eighth Transformation, and her age exceeded several thousand years — the exact figure impossible to verify. The Heavenly Court was full of such ancient relics, but the title of Great Grandmaster of Refinement Path was exceedingly rare.
Purple Violet Fairy knew more than most.
She was a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal, able to deduce deeper secrets from the faintest of clues.
She knew that Granny Sand's lifespan had long since run out, and that she had to remain in perpetual slumber within the Heavenly Court to delay the arrival of death. But she and the Lord of the Monitoring Heaven Tower were figures from the same era, and in their youth, they had shared a bond of affection.
When the great battle at Yitian Mountain erupted, the Lord of the Monitoring Heaven Tower had willingly sacrificed himself, dying on the battlefield. This news had finally stirred Granny Sand, prompting her to voluntarily end her slumber and awaken.
Granny Sand looked at the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu in Purple Violet Fairy's hand. She suddenly let out a long sigh. "An old woman like me, with half her body already in the coffin — what honor is there to speak of? But this time, I rushed to refine the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu. Can it truly help you track down that Fang Yuan?"
Refining the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu required a critical immortal material: Light of Antiquity.
In this day and age, it was nearly impossible for ordinary Gu Immortals to gather it, but the Heavenly Court was the exception.
This foremost Gu Immortal organization in the world had been established since ancient times and had maintained its preeminent position throughout, surveying the river of history and looking down upon the heroes of the Five Regions.
Wind Cloud Manor was merely one of the Heavenly Court's ten subordinate sects, yet its treasury already contained Light of Antiquity. The Heavenly Court's own treasury naturally held far more.
Thus, when Granny Sand rushed to refine the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu, she did not need to worry about a shortage of immortal materials.
This was the foundation that had sustained the Heavenly Court for over three million years!
Facing Granny Sand's question, Purple Violet Fairy smiled and replied, "This is the result of my deductions. I have a sixty percent certainty."
A strange light flickered in Granny Sand's eyes. "You are a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal who can rival that old Monitoring Heaven ghost. If you say sixty percent certainty, then it is well worth attempting."
Purple Violet Fairy nodded gently. "Actually, there is an element of luck in my deductions. I recently obtained several key clues. That Fang Yuan possesses the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu, the Spring Autumn Cicada, and other Gu — this is no longer a secret. Not long ago, we captured a Demonic Path Gu Immortal named Gongsun Liang alive. We learned that the Grand Elder of the organization had once borrowed Gu from him. Later, we calculated several possible locations where Fang Yuan might appear, one of which was Guan River. As it happened, at Wind Cloud Manor, a Gu Immortal named Feng Chanzi had been secretly selling Light of Antiquity from the sect's treasury to outsiders."
"So you deduced that Fang Yuan's Fixed Travel Immortal Gu has already been destroyed — is that it?" Granny Sand said.
"There is merely that possibility, but judging by the current results, this deduction should be correct," Purple Violet Fairy answered.
"Then Fang Yuan still possesses many Immortal Gu. The Spring Autumn Cicada has already been sealed, and the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu has fallen into our hands. With this, tracking him down becomes several times easier," Granny Sand said.
Purple Violet Fairy shook her head slightly and sighed softly. "Actually, the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu is nothing to worry about. As a mere Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu, there are far too many ways to counter it."
"Quite right," Granny Sand agreed. "For the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu to advance to the Seventh or Eighth Transformation is nearly impossible, because it requires far too much Light of Antiquity. Even if the Heavenly Court's current treasury were entirely depleted of all its Light of Antiquity, it would only be enough for three attempts at breaking through to the Seventh Transformation. An Eighth Transformation Fixed Travel Immortal Gu has become a lost legend."
Light of Antiquity had been abundantly available in the Ancient Era, but now it had become a completely extinct immortal material.
And the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu, in particular, required enormous quantities of Light of Antiquity.
A Sixth Transformation Fixed Travel Immortal Gu simply could not transport a Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal, let alone an Eighth Transformation existence.
These Gu Immortals all possessed extremely rich Dao Marks. For the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu to transport them would be like asking an infant to carry an elephant.
Unless the Gu Immortal specialized in the Space Path, or employed a specially designed Immortal Gu killer move.
But such cases were rare in any event, so overall, the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu remained limited to the Sixth Transformation level. Though its effects were powerful, it was of little use to Seventh and Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals.
Granny Sand continued, "Actually, in the Heavenly Court's history, there have been several occasions where it possessed the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu. In most cases, it was bestowed upon subordinate sects and entrusted to their use, only to be lost due to tribulation crossing and various other reasons. On one occasion, the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu was in the hands of the Heavenly Court Gu Immortal Liang Liang, and it even advanced to the Seventh Transformation. This man also specialized in the Space Path, but tragically, when the Ancient Desolate Beast Huo Kong ran rampant, he participated in the battle and fell in combat, and the Seventh Transformation Fixed Travel Immortal Gu was destroyed along with him."
A Sixth Transformation Fixed Travel Immortal Gu was treasured greatly by Fang Yuan, but in the eyes of the Heavenly Court's Gu Immortals, it was barely worth a glance.
It couldn't be used, it wasn't practical, so throughout history, in most cases the Heavenly Court had bestowed it upon subordinate sects, letting them make the best use of it to suppress the grand situation of Central Continent.
What no one had expected was that Fang Yuan had used the Fixed Travel Immortal Gu to single-handedly stir up such a great storm.