Five Gu Immortals flew swiftly, skimming the ocean surface.
"Hehehe, everything is set. As long as Fang Yuan falls into our trap, we'll make him suffer to his heart's content. Even if we can't imprison him, it'll be enough to severely hamper his development speed." Ying Wuxie felt a measure of smugness in his heart.
Fang Yuan's development speed was too fast — truly terrifying!
Heavenly Will had gone to extraordinary lengths to kill him, even deploying human tribulations like Snowman and Stone Man Gu Immortals.
He had to be suppressed.
Before, when Fang Yuan was in the Langya Blessed Land, Ying Wuxie had been powerless to reach him. Now that he had come here on his own initiative, it was the perfect opportunity to teach him a lesson.
Of course, there was no way Ying Wuxie would act personally.
He still bore a great responsibility — the weight of the Shadow Sect's resurgence rested on his shoulders!
"This works perfectly. I suppress Fang Yuan while staying clear of Heavenly Will's schemes. Hmm?!" Suddenly, Ying Wuxie's expression turned grave.
"Careful — there's a desolate beast in the water, approaching at extreme speed. Something's very strange about it!" Ying Wuxie frowned and called out a warning.
"Just a mere desolate beast." The Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal Shi Nu struck.
BOOM!
The water's surface exploded into a massive plume of spray as Fang Yuan revealed his human form.
"I've found you… Ying Wuxie!" Fang Yuan's lips curled back, baring a savage grin.
All five immortals froze — it was their first time seeing Fang Yuan in person. Fang Yuan was cautious and meticulous; he had naturally disguised himself as someone else for this trip.
"Who are you?" Suddenly, Ying Wuxie's entire body trembled violently.
He activated his Fate Observing Immortal Gu and saw the mighty fortune atop Fang Yuan's head — identical in magnitude to that of himself and Hei Loulan.
Linked Fortune Immortal Gu!
Ying Wuxie had used Linked Fortune to connect himself with Hei Loulan. And Hei Loulan had long since been linked together with Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan's appearance could change, but his fortune could not be concealed.
Seeing that fortune, how could Ying Wuxie not recognize Fang Yuan's identity!
"Quick — the ancient battle formation!" he bellowed, panic overtaking him.
The other three immortals already had a tacit understanding; on instinct, they struck simultaneously, activating the ancient battle formation — Four Paths Open.
In a flash, the four immortals vanished without a trace.
Only one remained.
Liu Qingyu: "…"
Fang Yuan: "…"
The two locked eyes. Both were silent.
The ancient battle formation — Four Paths Open.
A technique that allowed Ying Wuxie and the others to escape from the hands of Heavenly Court Gu Immortals. Naturally, its effects were extraordinary.
This was also Fang Yuan's first time witnessing it.
And so, he was somewhat speechless.
Though he had made some estimates beforehand, seeing it with his own eyes still filled him with astonishment.
"But no matter how powerful this method is, as long as I have Fortune Sensing in my possession, I won't worry about losing track of them. For now, I'll just deal with this fellow first!"
Fang Yuan came back to his senses and turned his gaze toward Liu Qingyu.
Liu Qingyu: "…"
Seeing Fang Yuan's cold, murderous stare, he instinctively drifted backward.
His mood was even more tumultuous than Fang Yuan's!
He had schemed in every way imaginable to obtain the Path of Information inheritance, only to have it snatched away.
He had killed a Blood Path demonic immortal, only for the crucial lead to vanish.
Unwilling to accept defeat, he had returned to the Turbulent Sea region to lie in wait, only to run into Ying Wuxie and his group — his helpers were all killed, and he surrendered.
Fine, surrender was surrender. If the alliance terms were harsh, so be it. If he had to accept his loss, he would! Having accepted a new master, he resolved to treat Ying Wuxie as his leader. Liu Qingyu, for the sake of his own life, decided to actively integrate into the Shadow Sect as a group.
And then, during the departure from the Eastern Sea, someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere!
And then — Ying Wuxie ran!
He fled!!
Not only did he run, but the other three Gu Immortals ran along with him.
They bolted lightning-fast!
In the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace!
"Son of a bitch!" Liu Qingyu desperately wanted to scream curses.
But he couldn't.
The forced alliance he had signed required him to maintain constant deference toward Ying Wuxie.
The moment he uttered a curse, the backlash from the Path of Information Dao Marks would strike him.
Liu Qingyu's current mood was, as one could imagine, absolutely abysmal!
He hadn't recognized Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan's appearance was only that of a Sixth Transformation cultivator. However, Liu Qingyu noticed that Fang Yuan's aura as a Gu Immortal was also limited to the Sixth Transformation level.
This time, Fang Yuan had only hastily altered his appearance; he hadn't bothered to mask or change his aura. The primary purpose of this trip was to hunt down Ying Wuxie and his group. They all knew each other well, all knew each other's cultivation levels — changes in aura weren't important.
This detail only deepened Liu Qingyu's resentment.
"The guy's just a Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal — what are you running for?!"
"WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!"
"On our side, there are two Seventh Transformation and three Sixth Transformation — every one of them an expert! What exactly are you running from?!"
"What the hell are you running from?!"
Liu Qingyu screamed and roared frantically in his mind.
But he received no answer.
He had only recently joined the Shadow Sect — far too short a time. Ying Wuxie had never anticipated that Fang Yuan would arrive so quickly; some critical intelligence had simply not yet been relayed to Liu Qingyu.
If Ying Wuxie had told Liu Qingyu that the reason they fled the instant they met was because Fang Yuan possessed the combat power of an Eighth Transformation — the ancient Supreme Heavenly Eagle —
Then Liu Qingyu would never have harbored such thoughts or such screams in his heart. He absolutely would have run even faster than Hei Loulan and Ying Wuxie.
Oh, no.