"Fang Yuan gazed at the expanse of black, rotting ground before him and let out a long breath.
"The fifth Earth Disaster — I've finally survived it!"
The Corrosive Undercurrent had kept Fang Yuan on his toes, but fortunately he had mastered the Hei Fan True Inheritance and had no weak points. After holding on, he weathered the tribulation.
The terrain here had been completely transformed. It would take considerable effort to restore it to its previous state.
Fortunately, Fang Yuan's Supreme Immortal Grotto was vast enough. This area was located within the Little Western Desert and had been desolate to begin with, so his losses were negligible.
He could even leave this area as is, without doing any restoration whatsoever.
Fortune and misfortune — everything must be viewed from both sides.
Though this land could no longer support ordinary plants, it could be seen as an extreme environment where many unique beasts and flora could survive and flourish.
Of course, Fang Yuan would need to use a large number of My Will Mortal Gu to completely purge the residual Heavenly Will that lingered here.
But that was a minor matter.
The key point was that the fifth Earth Disaster had been survived.
After safely returning to the Langya Blessed Land, Fang Yuan reviewed the situation. He found that while the fifth Earth Disaster had been more powerful than any previous one, it had not exceeded his original estimates.
The key reason he had survived was that his own growth in strength had far outpaced the increase in the Earth Disaster's power.
"So it seems the Earth Disaster isn't that frightening. So far, it can no longer stop me. What's truly terrifying is the Human Tribulation!"
Fang Yuan recalled the horror of the Human Tribulation during the fourth Earth Disaster, and a chill still crept through his heart.
That Human Tribulation had been truly terrifying. Even an Ancient Stone Dragon had appeared. Its power had far exceeded Fang Yuan's limits, and he had survived only through cunning deception, maintaining his composure in the face of danger to barely scrape through.
"Come to think of it — isn't the reason Heavenly Will brews Human Tribulations precisely because the Earth Disaster alone can no longer suppress me?"
"That is exactly why Heavenly Will goes to such lengths, using Human Tribulations to destroy me."
"This time, I didn't encounter any Human Tribulation. That's because I am a complete Outsider, and Heavenly Will couldn't figure out my plans and schemes. On top of that, I acted swiftly, leaving Heavenly Will no time to brew a Human Tribulation!"
Heavenly Will was not False Will, and its influence wasn't as potent — especially not on human Gu Immortals with higher cultivation and the strongest spiritual awareness.
With this in mind, Fang Yuan decided it would be best not to remain in one fixed location for future tribulations.
It was precisely because he had always weathered his tribulations in the Northern Ice Plains that Heavenly Will had found its opportunity, subtly influencing many non-human Gu Immortals and nearly getting Fang Yuan killed.
"This time, I deliberately chose the Earth Trench because I wanted to face an Earth Path tribulation to add a large number of Earth Path Dao Marks to my Supreme Immortal Grotto. Instead, I got a Dark Path Earth Disaster."
Within the Earth Trench, the Earth Path and Dark Path Dao Marks were the most concentrated.
This time, Fang Yuan had successfully activated the Immortal Tribulation Forge Orifice, and the tribulation's type had been chosen from these two.
But Heavenly Will clearly hadn't wanted Fang Yuan to get his wish. Instead of the Earth Path Earth Disaster he desired most, it had manifested as Dark Path.
Fang Yuan used the Dao Ke Dao Immortal Gu to scan himself and discovered that his Dark Path Dao Marks had surged dramatically, now approaching ten thousand.
"I had a small foundation of Dark Path Dao Marks before, but it was very thin. This Earth Disaster added at least nine thousand marks! Not a bad harvest after all."
Though Fang Yuan's comprehension of the Dark Path was abysmal, he did possess a Dark Path Immortal Gu — the Dark Crossing Gu.
This Immortal Gu was incredibly useful to him — it could conceal his presence and, to a certain degree, shield him from Heavenly Will's perception. Fairy Jiang Yu had once used it to perfectly mask Hei Loulan's Ten Extremities aura.
This time, weathering the tribulation had taken Fang Yuan only a few days.
Over at the Hei Fan Cavern Heaven, the stalemate continued.
Chu Du possessed Peak Seventh Transformation combat power, and the Hei Fan Cavern Heaven had been fortified by him with meticulous precision, its defense watertight.
However, Fang Yuan could tell that the one truly gaining the upper hand was the Hundred-Legged Heavenly Lord, despite his repeated failed charges giving him a somewhat disheveled appearance.
Because the Hundred-Legged Heavenly Lord was purely on the offensive — when to attack, when to retreat, all of it was at his discretion. Chu Du, on the other hand, could only rely on the Cavern Heaven for defense, never knowing when the Hundred-Legged Heavenly Lord would strike or what methods he would use. This put him in a very passive position.
"Chu Du can't hold out forever. But he's still some ways from his limit." Fang Yuan quietly analyzed the battle.
He racked his brains, pondering whether Chu Du's death in battle would benefit or harm him.
After careful consideration, Fang Yuan concluded: it would be better if Chu Du didn't die.
There were several reasons.
First, Fang Yuan had invested heavily in Chu Du. The largest investment was the Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu — Disaster Attraction. If Chu Du died, Disaster Attraction would certainly be lost.
Second, Chu Du and he were bound by a covenant. He couldn't stand by and watch him die.
Third, future tribulations would only grow stronger. Chu Du, wielding Disaster Attraction, could shoulder a significant portion of the burden for Fang Yuan. His existence was more beneficial to Fang Yuan's development.
Fourth, if he helped Chu Du defend the Hei Fan Cavern Heaven, Fang Yuan could transplant the Heavenly Crystal reservoir and use the Cavern Heaven to continuously produce Heavenly Crystals, preparing for the future incubation and raising of Supreme Heavenly Eagles.
"It seems I'll have to take action against the Hundred-Legged Heavenly Lord after all." Fang Yuan quietly made this decision.