"What's wrong?" Qiao Siliu asked, puzzled.
Fang Yuan didn't answer. He paced back and forth, employing Wisdom Path methods, sinking deep into thought.
The current situation was extremely complicated. The mastermind remained hidden, Wu Yong's fate was unknown, and everything was shrouded in layers of mist. Yet Fang Yuan had been thrust to the forefront and had no choice but to react.
He was not his own master.
Fang Yuan deeply felt that he was not his own master.
The Wu Family Gu Immortals, the Qiao Family Gu Immortals at his side, the grand situation of the Southern Border, and the mastermind behind the scenes—all of it made it impossible for him to remain within the Gu formation.
This was the helplessness of being part of the Righteous Path.
Fang Yuan faced a grueling test.
He absolutely did not want to become a pawn for the Qiao and Wu families to manipulate at will. He needed to protect his own interests from this impossibly complex situation.
But how to go about it?
He had already guessed Wu Bachong's intentions and schemes.
"Perhaps I can use this to my advantage." At that thought, Fang Yuan decided to beat him at his own game.
He stopped walking and faced Qiao Siliu. "Since I've been put in command of the overall situation, I'll give my orders."
"Now that's the bold decisiveness of a true man!" Qiao Siliu's bright eyes lit up immediately, and she praised him.
Fang Yuan continued in a low voice. "Right now, the mastermind is hidden and their identity unknown. The most pressing priority is to hold our defenses securely. I will order every Wu Family Gu Immortal to abandon their outer resource points and return entirely to Wu Yi Mountain, raising the Immortal Gu House as a safeguard against the unexpected."
Qiao Siliu was quite satisfied with this decision.
By sharing his thoughts about the Wu Family's internal affairs with her in advance, Fang Yuan was clearly not treating her as an outsider.
Qiao Siliu felt pleased. She mused, "This is indeed the safest approach. However, it's also like a warrior cutting off his own wrist—abandoning so many resource points all at once will likely see them swallowed up by neighboring major powers."
"There's no other choice. The Wu Family's strength has always been spread too thin. With the situation unclear, we can only pull back our fist to guard against accidents and challenges." Fang Yuan sighed.
"Very well. Let's go—leave this place and return to Wu Yi Mountain." Qiao Siliu approved of Fang Yuan's response and spoke again.
Fang Yuan shook his head. "No, I won't go."
"This journey is far too dangerous."
"My own brother Wu Yong was ambushed—what chance would the two of us, mere Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals, have against that mastermind?"
"If this mastermind truly intends to deal with the Wu Family, then their next target is very likely me. How could I possibly set out casually? The journey back to the Wu Family is far too risky!"
Fang Yuan made his excuses, and his reasoning was sound.
Qiao Siliu's gaze grew pensive. She nodded slightly. "That makes sense. We should indeed be more cautious. It would only be truly safe if we could have the Immortal Gu House come to meet us."
Having finally managed to reassure Qiao Siliu, Fang Yuan felt a wave of relief in his heart.
But his brows remained tightly furrowed.
He had managed to stay within the Gu formation, but how long could this situation last?
Wu Yong's sudden fall into an unknown fate was a shocking turn of events—one that even Fang Yuan, who knew how history would unfold, had not anticipated.
Inside the Purple Blood Pioneer Formation.
The blood rivers surged, having split into more than a dozen streams.
In the dim environment, countless purple thoughts, endless and inexhaustible, burst forth and sprayed outward.
Iron-Face Shen bellowed. The iron sand swirling around him flew like smoke, forming a towering curtain that shielded his body.
But the purple thoughts suddenly shifted from solid to intangible, piercing through the iron sand smoke screen without any resistance, hurtling straight toward Iron-Face Shen.
"Damn it!" Iron-Face Shen gritted his teeth, powerless against this Void Path technique.
However, just as the crisis peaked, a gentle breeze drifted through.
The purple thoughts, already intangible, shattered one by one like soap bubbles.
"That was close!" Iron-Face Shen turned to look, casting a grateful glance toward Wu Yong in the distance.
Around Wu Yong, there was virtually a storm of purple thoughts, with countless blood beasts interspersed among them.
Even amid such fierce fighting, Wu Yong remained completely unharmed, still possessing enough strength to look after Iron-Face Shen and Qiao Zhicai at the other two battlefields.
"This Purple Blood Pioneer Formation actually encompasses Void Path variations! If we don't clear out these Ruin Bat corpses, the Void Path variations will continue endlessly!" Qiao Zhicai shouted.
He had to shout.
Communication by sound transmission was utterly useless here.
Even mental exchange through thoughts and other Wisdom Path methods was impossible.
Iron-Face Shen's gaze was cold as he swept it across the scene. In the blood rivers, there were three or four dozen Ruin Bat corpses—most were merely Desolate Beast grade, but a few were Ancient Desolate Beasts, and one was even the corpse of a Primordial Ruin Bat, held aloft by two blood rivers together.
In truth, fighting up to this point, Iron-Face Shen had noticed something.
These Ruin Bat corpses were continuously dissolving within the blood rivers. And whenever the purple thoughts shifted between solid and intangible, the rate of dissolution would accelerate.