Within a Gu formation.
Fang Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground in silence.
Chu Du stood before the formation, along with the wills of Pang Shan and Bu Shi Xian.
"Let's begin," Chu Du said evenly.
The wills of Bu Shi Xian and Pang Shan condensed into humanoid forms. Nodding at his words, they each activated the Immortal Gu within their bodies.
A Rule Path Immortal Gu — Not.
The other was also a Rule Path Immortal Gu, ranked among the top ten of the Extraordinary Gu Rankings, named — Care.
Red Date Immortal Essence was being rapidly consumed as the two Immortal Gu each radiated a peculiar mystical glow. The two glows were different in color — one was black, hollow and void-like; the other was crimson, fiery and warm.
The black and crimson light poured into the Gu formation.
Chu Du struck at precisely the right moment, activating the formation and channeling the power of both the Not Immortal Gu and the Care Immortal Gu into it.
Under the formation's guidance, the two mystical glows merged, forming a spiraling pillar of light — half black, half red.
The pillar of light enveloped Fang Yuan's entire body without a single wisp escaping.
After a moment, the pillar of light stabilized completely, no longer fluctuating and twisting as before.
"It's ready," Chu Du said.
Fang Yuan then spoke: "You'd never guess what lies hidden beneath the Northern Ice Plains. I nearly perished there..."
He went on at length, recounting in vivid detail the terrifying human tribulation he had encountered while crossing his tribulation on the Northern Ice Plains.
The secrets of the Snowman and Stone Person tribes hidden beneath the ice were laid bare before Chu Du.
"I never would have imagined! On the barren Northern Ice Plains, such a powerful non-human force has been hiding all this time!" Chu Du was visibly shaken.
The wills of Bu Shi Xian and Pang Shan also wavered slightly, betraying their unsettled emotions.
After a moment, the black and crimson glow gradually dissipated. The Gu formation ceased its operation, and Fang Yuan slowly rose to his feet, stepping out of the formation.
He was unharmed!
Ordinarily, as a member of the Four Tribe Grand Alliance and a guest elder of the Langya Sect, he absolutely could not have revealed the secrets of the Snowman and Stone Person tribes to outsiders.
But thanks to the Not and Care Immortal Gu, along with Chu Du's cooperation, Fang Yuan had suffered no harm whatsoever despite violating his sworn oath!
These two Immortal Gu had originally been intended for Chu Du's use.
Chu Du's plan had always been to negotiate peace with the Centipede Heavenly Lord — to hold on through tenacious persistence, unyielding defense, and eventual compromise, all to preserve the Hei Fan Blessed Land.
He had long prepared for the worst: if push came to shove, he would secretly sacrifice the lives of Hao Zhen and Chou Laowu to preserve the Centipede Heavenly Lord's dignity while demonstrating his own sincerity.
But reality had turned out far better than he had anticipated.
Perhaps the Righteous Path forces uniting to besiege the Centipede family had placed immense external pressure on the Centipede Heavenly Lord.
Indeed, the Centipede Heavenly Lord had made no demands for punishing the murderer, imposing only a token punishment on Hao Zhen and Chou Laowu.
"Thank goodness for these two Immortal Gu. Otherwise, I'd have been racking my brain trying to explain this to you." Fang Yuan feigned relief, letting out a long sigh.
Of course, he had not told Chu Du everything.
At the very least, he had not revealed the existence of the Langya Blessed Land.
Fang Yuan was a cautious man by nature — there was no way he would be completely honest with Chu Du. He habitually kept a card hidden up his sleeve.
Chu Du's voice was low: "In that case, we won't be able to undergo tribulation on the Northern Ice Plains for the time being."
"Indeed." Fang Yuan nodded, and when it came to anything regarding the Four Tribe Grand Alliance, he had become extremely sparing with words.
Because the Not and Care Immortal Gu had stopped being activated, any further violation of the alliance oath would result in severe backlash for Fang Yuan — either grievous injury or death!
Though the Not and Care Immortal Gu were extraordinarily effective, they required constant activation.
Because when used together, they only prevented a Gu Immortal from suffering harm when violating an oath.
They could not fundamentally free Fang Yuan from the various oath bindings placed upon him.
This was a method that treated the symptoms, not the root cause.
"What do you two think about this?" Fang Yuan asked directly.
The wills of Bu Shi Xian and Pang Shan exchanged a glance.
The former shook its head: "The Mad Demon Cavern conceals the secret of immortality. Our true selves would never leave that place. As long as humanity is not on the brink of extinction, we will never step forward. Let the non-human races develop as they wish — even if their strength multiplied several times over, they would still be no match for our human race."
The latter said: "Dealing with these non-human races would actually be quite easy. All we need to do is publicize this intelligence, and it will inevitably trigger a full-scale purge by the Northern Plains' Gu Immortal world."
"No. If we do that, the Northern Ice Plains will be ravaged. Under the weight of a great war, the ice plains probably won't survive. Besides, we'd gain nothing from it. It would even expose — and potentially implicate — Brother Liu." Chu Du shook his head.
"I was just floating an idea," Pang Shan's will said dismissively.
Indeed, if the non-human forces beneath the ice plains were exposed, a great war would be inevitable. When that time came, Fang Yuan would be caught in the middle, facing an impossible dilemma.
Hearing the responses of the three before him, much of the worry in Fang Yuan's heart dissipated.