Boom!
A muffled sound came from the Counter-Destiny Sacrificial Sub-Formation.
Hong Jizi was no longer surprised by this. He cast a brief glance, then looked away.
In that short time, the light pillar erupting from the Gu formation had already shrunk by fifty percent.
"This Gu formation is rather interesting." Just then, a strange voice softly reached Hong Jizi's ears.
"Who's there?!" Hong Jizi turned pale with fright. His Gu Immortal aura erupted violently as he prepared to unleash a powerful attack.
"Little one, don't be nervous — and whatever you do, don't move." The strange voice spoke again, calm and unhurried.
In an instant, Hong Jizi found himself completely immobilized.
He felt as though he had plunged into an ice cavern.
The newcomer's strength was beyond imagination. He, a dignified Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal, one of the Eight Jizi of Changsheng Heaven, had been suppressed with utter ease before he could even react!
"You are a descendant of my old master. As long as you don't attack me with ill intent, I won't eat you. Hehehe." The voice spoke again.
Then Hong Jizi saw a colossal beast, massive as a small mountain, slowly reveal itself before him.
It was a four-legged colossus covered in purple fur.
Somewhat resembling a sable.
Its entire body was coated in lustrous, smooth purple fur, and a pair of eyes glimmered with amethyst radiance.
Most striking of all was its tail.
It was not a sable's tail — it was a dog's tail.
A giant sable with a dog's tail?
Hong Jizi was momentarily stunned, for it reminded him of a certain existence.
Sure enough, the next moment, a communication Gu in his Immortal Orifice relayed a message from the Southern Wasteland Immortal: he was currently unable to come, and this colossal beast was the helper he had recruited — to deal with anyone who dared obstruct Changsheng Heaven's operations!
"You… you must be the Dog-Tailed Life-Extending Sable? Ancestor Juyang's mount?" Hong Jizi stammered.
The colossus gave a slight nod, bared its teeth, and replied with displeasure: "Stop calling me a mount — I have a name, you know. I'm called Mao Liqiu. Just call me Master Mao."
"M-Master Mao!" On the other side, Xuan Jizi, still inside the Gu formation, was equally gobsmacked, still reeling from shock.
"Alright, enough with this Gu formation. Let's head straight to the Reverse River, pick up Ma Hongyun, and that annoying Love Immortal Gu!" The Dog-Tailed Life-Extending Sable, Mao Liqiu, waved a massive paw with casual abandon.
Instantly, a wild gale erupted. Countless Gu auras surged forth, coalescing in a flash into an Immortal-level killer move.
The painstakingly constructed Counter-Destiny Sacrificial Sub-Formation that Xuan Jizi had set up collapsed and disintegrated, reduced to a pile of rubble.
"What?!" Xuan Jizi nearly popped his eyes out of his head.
"Stop gawping — did you think waking Master Mao from his beautiful dream was fun? Finish this quickly. Master Mao still needs to go back to his cave and sleep!"
The great sable Mao Liqiu spoke, then exhaled a single breath.
The breath streamed out at tremendous speed, instantly binding both Hong Jizi and Xuan Jizi.
The colossus lightly pushed off the ground with its four limbs, and its ponderous, mountain-sized body rose gently into the sky.
Flanking it on either side, Hong Jizi and Xuan Jizi were pulled along by the invisible breath, following the sable as it hurtled toward the Reverse River.
Something had changed.
The sudden upheaval in the Reverse River affected all the Gu Immortals inside it.
After the violent disruption, the entire Reverse River gradually settled, its surface flowing gently once more, rippling with shallow waves.
"The Reverse River has returned to normal?" Fang Yuan's eyes gleamed sharply. He immediately felt the difficulty multiply several times over.
A massive quantity of debris, unable to move on its own, was washed rapidly downstream by the Reverse River's current.
In short order, many Gu Immortals chose to ride the current downstream, drifting along with the lifeless objects until they finally extricated themselves from the Reverse River.
This was the only way to escape.
"Not looking good." Fang Yuan had not caught sight of Ying Wuxie and the others. He pressed on.
High above, Bi Chentian and the other Central Continent Gu Immortals looked down upon the Reverse River below.
They had originally intended to swim upstream, but as the sub-formation continued to deteriorate, the latter half of the Reverse River kept restoring itself to normal.
Seeing that this approach was failing — he himself could still endure, but the other Gu Immortals were burning through far too much energy — Bi Chentian chose to go with the flow, escaping the Reverse River before flying upstream through the sky.
But in doing so, they had become bystanders. Any techniques they attempted to cast upon the Reverse River would simply rebound upon themselves.
Bi Chentian soon spotted Fang Yuan within the river.
"Consider our previous grudge settled — if you hand over the Love Immortal Gu," Bi Chentian issued his ultimatum.
"So this is the Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal who fought Lord Bi Chentian to a draw? How on earth did he cultivate?" The other Central Continent Gu Immortals cast their looks of surprise and scrutiny toward Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan sneered, not deigning to acknowledge Bi Chentian.
One of the Central Continent Gu Immortals immediately shouted: "Insolent! How dare you show disrespect to Lord Bi Chentian!"
Bi Chentian let out a cold snort: "You think hiding inside the Reverse River means I can't do anything to you?"
"Before I'm washed away, you'd better worry about yourself. After all — this isn't the Central Continent." Fang Yuan replied without a shred of fear.