Southern Border, the Wu clan.
In the great hall, besides Fang Yuan and Wu Yong, there was also another Gu Immortal.
He was tall and slender, draped in a black-and-white cloak, with a soft beard that hung down to his chest. His eyes were narrow and long, glimmering with a hidden radiance, and a faint mist of water qi swirled around his entire body.
Wu Yubo, the Wu clan's Gu Immortal, was proud by nature. A Seventh Transformation cultivator with Peak Stage combat power, he was only slightly weaker than Old Man Ba the Tree.
"Gu Immortal Yan Huang is challenging Yubo, but in truth it's the Xia clan that covets the Bowing Moon Bowl. This place produces an abundance of Moon Path Gu insects — it's one of our most important sources of output, and we absolutely cannot afford to lose it," Wu Yong said.
"With me taking action, Grand Elder, there's no need for concern. I've beaten Yan Huang twice already — I can beat him a third time," Wu Yubo replied coldly.
The Bowing Moon Bowl was not some giant bowl. It was a valley.
But this valley had a peculiar shape, strikingly similar to an enormous bowl, and it produced large quantities of Moon Path Gu insects, so people called it the Bowing Moon Bowl.
Within the Bowing Moon Bowl, there had originally been a stockade.
When the Wu clan expanded, they razed this stockade to the ground to seize control of the bowl. Among the stockade's families was a Gu Immortal who styled himself the Immortal Yan Huang.
The Wu clan sent Wu Yubo to deal with him, and defeated him. Yan Huang, outmatched, could only flee in bitterness, abandoning the home he had once known.
As the Wu clan walked the Righteous Path, they at least found a pretext when they seized the Bowing Moon Bowl. They could not simply kill Yan Huang outright.
That was the rule of the game for the Righteous Path.
Yan Huang departed bearing a deep grudge. To have his revenge, he adopted a new name, went into hiding, and painstakingly refined his killer move. Yet the second time, he still fell to Wu Yubo's hands.
The Wu clan learned of his whereabouts and knew he would never stop being their enemy, so they rallied their Gu Immortals and secretly pursued him.
At the critical moment, an unknown force intervened to save Yan Huang's life.
The Wu clan had been about to investigate further, but then Wu Duxiu fell, the clan descended into chaos, Wu Yong took power, and the political landscape was thrown into turmoil. This gave Yan Huang a sliver of breathing room.
Now, just a few days ago, Yan Huang had sent out a formal challenge, proposing to use the Bowing Moon Bowl as the stake in a duel against Wu Yubo. Whoever won would claim the bowl.
The Wu clan was the foremost superpower in the Southern Border — how could they refuse to accept?
But what worried Wu Yong was that this time, Yan Huang was not alone as he had been the previous two times. He had pledged himself to the Xia clan, another superpower.
This meant that the mysterious force which had secretly aided Yan Huang before was now revealed — it could only be the Xia clan.
On the surface, this was a personal duel between Yan Huang and Wu Yubo. But beneath it lay far greater significance — a clash between two superpowers.
Once word of this spread, it immediately drew the attention of every major faction and powerful Gu Immortal across the Southern Border.
After Wu Duxiu's death, the Wu clan still held the reputation of being the top force, but its prestige had greatly diminished. The Xia clan was undeniably the first to challenge the Wu clan's authority. If the Wu clan lost this battle, the other families would see through their weakness, and once confidence wavered, actions against the Wu clan would come one after another.
This was exactly what Wu Yong feared.
Yan Huang's open challenge was the first major obstacle Wu Yong had faced since taking the reins of power.
"Yubo, do not be careless. You must understand what this means for our clan," Wu Yong sighed. "That Yan Huang has allied with the Xia clan and now has a superpower backing him. The fact that he's issued this challenge proactively means he's coming prepared and with ill intent."
"Grand Elder, just await the good news," Wu Yubo replied, his expression still indifferent. He glanced at Fang Yuan and added, "In my view, this battle doesn't require anyone else to stand watch. That trash Yan Huang is a defeated opponent — I'll handle him easily."
"Still, it would be better to be cautious. My brother has mastered three types of transformations — he's a Seventh Transformation powerhouse. With him standing watch, I'll be at ease," Wu Yong responded.
The Wu clan had spread itself too thin. Though it had many Gu Immortals, they were deployed across various locations and stretched too thin.
Originally, Wu Yong had planned to rotate Fang Yuan over to the super Gu formation. But now with this unexpected development, he assigned Fang Yuan to stand guard for Wu Yubo. After all, Yan Huang wasn't coming alone this time — he had Xia Qingcang, a Gu Immortal of the Xia clan, at his side.
Fang Yuan's joining the Wu clan could be brushed aside, but participating in this matter wouldn't hurt either, so he agreed.
It was a rather pleasant assignment. He only needed to stand guard, and after it was done, the clan would record his merit.
Wu Yubo was dismissive of the idea, but since Wu Yong insisted, he couldn't very well object.
The matter was settled. Several days later, Wu Yubo and Fang Yuan arrived at the agreed-upon location.
There, Xia Qingcang and Immortal Yan Huang had been waiting for some time.
Immortal Yan Huang was a middle-aged-looking Gu Immortal with a weathered face and ordinary features. The moment he saw Wu Yubo, his expression changed — his eyes widened as though flames might shoot out of them.
Xia Qingcang, on the other hand, cut an imposing figure, his body tall and imposing like a mountain peak. His face was ancient and stern, and his hair and beard were entirely white. His thick, bristling beard was as stiff as needles, and the gleam in his eyes was such that no one could meet his gaze directly.
"Wu Yubo! You destroyed my stockade and killed my descendants! Today, I will return every ounce of humiliation I've suffered!" Yan Huang roared in a low voice.
Wu Yubo let out a cold laugh. "You spout baseless lies! I did what I did because I uncovered traces of the Blood Path and acted to uphold justice, ridding the people of a menace. You were corrupt yourself, yet you dare accuse an innocent man? You deserve to die!!"
The two clashed immediately, unable to exchange even a few more words.
Fang Yuan and Xia Qingcang each took their positions at opposite ends of the battlefield, standing guard for their respective Gu Immortals.
There was nothing to discuss. Everyone understood the true reason behind this fight, but when the Righteous Path acted, it naturally had to wear a respectable face.
Immortal Yan Huang cultivated both Fire and Earth. In one hand, his flames surged like dragons, blazing with searing heat. With the other, his Earth Path techniques sent boulders rolling and crashing with tremendous momentum.
Wu Yubo, however, specialized in the Water Path. His movements were graceful, like drifting fallen leaves, his cloak billowing behind him with an air of elegant freedom. The water qi around him was thick and heavy, with a fine drizzle falling like ox-hair — yet it was enough to dissolve and disintegrate every one of Yan Huang's flames and boulders.