Hong Jizi believed that the Persistence Gu was merely a fabricated Gu Insect from "The Legends of Human Ancestor."
But Xuan Jizi shook his head. "The Persistence Immortal Gu is not some fictitious Gu Insect. In truth, it truly once existed."
Hong Jizi was greatly surprised. "How did I not know about this?"
"This was something I learned by chance during my travels in Northern Plains. The person who once refined the Persistence Immortal Gu was none other than the famous Yuan Lian Immortal Venerable. He was also the one who entered the Gate of Life and Death and brought the Reverse Flow River into the world. He should have been its very first master," Xuan Jizi said.
"Yuan Lian Immortal Venerable! Is that so? But how did the Reverse Flow River end up in the hands of Old Ancestor Xue Hu?" Hong Jizi asked again.
Xuan Jizi shook his head once more. "The details behind that, I'm not entirely clear about… What's going on?!"
Just at that moment, a soft bang suddenly rang out.
Within the Reverse Fate Refining Sub-Array, a number of mortal Gu suddenly exploded.
The beam of light erupting from the sub-array immediately shrank by ten percent.
This sudden phenomenon immediately interrupted their conversation. Hong Jizi tensed up at once. "A portion of the Gu formation has been damaged — shouldn't we hurry and repair or supplement it?"
Xuan Jizi shook his head. "This situation was within my expectations. Even the Mother-Child Reverse Fate Grand Formation cannot withstand the might of the Reverse Flow River — damage is inevitable. Moreover, there is a flaw with this formation: once it is activated, it cannot be repaired midway unless the entire Gu formation is halted."
Hong Jizi's brow furrowed tightly. "The Reverse Flow River hasn't even been drawn here yet — what are we to do?"
Xuan Jizi smiled. "Don't worry. I set up this formation myself — how could I not have anticipated this? In fact, the damage to the Gu formation is actually beneficial."
Hong Jizi grew even more confused. "Damage to the Gu formation is beneficial?"
"For every ten percent the Gu formation loses, its pull on the Reverse Flow River decreases by ten percent. The latter segments of the Reverse Flow River will no longer be drawn in, returning to their normal state. This way, the Reverse Flow River can display its natural power and wash away the people and objects at the rear," Xuan Jizi explained.
"Brilliant!" Hong Jizi clapped his hands in admiration, eyes gleaming. "Ma Hongyun and Zhao Lianyun have both been positioned at the very front. This means they'll be the last ones to be eliminated."
Xuan Jizi nodded. "Precisely so."
Inside the Reverse Flow River.
"Lord Bi Chentian!" Three Central Continent Immortal Gu Masters greeted Bi Chentian.
Bi Chentian nodded. At this point, five people had already gathered at his side. Adding these three, along with himself, there were now a total of nine.
"Have any of you seen Ma Hongyun or Zhao Lianyun?" The Gu Masters all shook their heads.
"Then have you seen this person?" Bi Chentian gave the Gu Masters a detailed description of Fang Yuan's attire and appearance.
The Central Continent Gu Masters exchanged glances, and one of them suddenly spoke. "I believe I did see him, but I didn't engage him. At the time, I was hiding behind a piece of driftwood, and he didn't notice me either — he just swam on ahead."
Bi Chentian nodded.
"My lord, this person is not in our intelligence. Is he friend or foe?" someone asked.
The Central Continent Gu Masters were puzzled, because Bi Chentian, a dignified Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu Master, would not go out of his way to inquire about some Seventh Transformation Gu Master for no reason.
Come to think of it, Fang Yuan's cultivation was nothing remarkable. Among the Central Continent Gu Masters, the vast majority were at the Seventh Transformation level.
But what Bi Chentian said next sent a chill through every Central Continent Gu Master's heart!
"He is a formidable enemy. If any of you encounter him, be extremely cautious. Because in a purely physical fight, I can only manage a stalemate against him."
The Central Continent Gu Masters nodded one after another, their faces grim.
"What should we do now?" someone asked again.
"Now that we have the numbers, we swim upward. If we can eliminate our enemies within the Reverse Flow River, that would be ideal!" At this point, killing intent surged in Bi Chentian's chest.
This was indeed a rather sound tactic.
For the Central Continent Gu Masters, if it came to a real fight, they were no match for the combined forces of Old Ancestor Xue Hu and Lord Zishan. And with the Immortal Gu House Horn Chain Camp now lost, they stood even less of a chance.
The sudden change in the Reverse Flow River had instead handed the Central Continent Gu Masters an excellent opportunity.
Bi Chentian felt: as long as his side could seize this prime chance, they might just be able to slay their powerful enemies within the Reverse Flow River and turn defeat into victory.
"Hm? What's going on?" At that very moment, one of the Central Continent Gu Masters — a water-path specialist — keenly sensed a change in the water's flow.
Then the group of Central Continent Gu Masters watched as the Reverse Flow River waters around them rapidly calmed from their violent, torrential state.
At last, the river's surface flowed gently, rippling with faint waves.
A great quantity of stones, wood, and beast carcasses were swiftly washed downstream by the now-placid current.
The speed was astonishing — five times faster than before, when the waters had been raging!
"How can this be?" Some of the Central Continent Gu Masters, caught off guard, were swept away by the current. In the blink of an eye, they were two or three hundred paces behind Bi Chentian and the others.
Bi Chentian was the first to react.
"Quick — swim upward! Not a single moment's rest! The Reverse Flow River has returned to its normal state. If we stop now, we'll be washed away!" he shouted.
Urged by Bi Chentian's warning, the remaining Central Continent Gu Masters quickly snapped to attention and began swimming with all their might.
"So hard!"
"The water is flowing gently now, yet it's several times harder than when it was roaring with those violent waves!"
"This driftwood and these carcasses are infuriating — they keep getting in our way."
The Central Continent Gu Masters soon discovered that swimming against the now-normal Reverse Flow River was far more difficult than before.
"You think this is bad? The further upstream in the Reverse Flow River, the harder the struggle! Hold on! We don't need to swim all the way to the source — we just need to wait until we encounter the enemy and eliminate them. Slay one Eighth Transformation Gu Master, and we can turn the tide!" Bi Chentian rallied their morale.
The Central Continent Gu Masters responded in unison.
"In that case, the Reverse Flow River is actually our opportunity!"
"Lord Bi Chentian, look ahead — the water at the very front is still raging and turbulent!"
Bi Chentian looked and immediately noticed the anomaly.
His brow knotted tight at once.
This was terrible news.