Hope remained extremely slim.
The current battle was a three-way free-for-all.
Heavenly Court's forces firmly held first place.
The Shadow Sect was second, possessing the Eighth Transformation combat power of Zishan Zhenjun and Zuo Ye Hui.
Southern Border's Righteous Path forces came in third. Although they had a super Gu formation, it was ultimately an inanimate object, and moreover, Fairy Zi Wei had already infiltrated it using the Star Constellation Chessboard.
As for Fang Yuan, on the surface he belonged to the Southern Border's Righteous Path, but in reality he was closer to the Shadow Sect's camp. He was a special case.
Judging from the battle situation, both Heavenly Court's forces and the Southern Border's Righteous Path were attacking the Shadow Sect from both sides.
The Shadow Sect already struggled against Heavenly Court alone, being at a disadvantage. Now caught in a pincer attack, they were at the greatest disadvantage of all.
"One day's time—for reinforcements from the Southern Border, it would take at least one day."
"If the current trend continued, if things kept developing this way, I simply wouldn't be able to hold out until then."
"Once the Shadow Sect fell, Heavenly Court and the Southern Border's Righteous Path would likely join forces to deal with me as the traitor."
"The Shadow Sect's defeat was only one aspect—this super Gu formation also couldn't possibly hold out for a full day."
Fang Yuan withdrew his gaze and swept his eyes across the super Gu formation, his heart heavy with worry.
Due to Chi Qu You's design, the second layer of this super Gu formation could only be operated by a single person. No matter how many others there were, it would be useless. So even if Fang Yuan called back the Southern Border Righteous Path Gu Immortals, they would be unable to help him resist Fairy Zi Wei's erosion.
Moreover, Fang Yuan still carried the hidden danger of his identity.
If the Southern Border Gu Immortals learned of Fang Yuan's true identity from Heavenly Court—whether they believed it or not, what actions they would take—all of these were unknown dangers for Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan had of course considered the first layer of the Gu formation.
This super Gu formation had a total of four layers. Fang Yuan was currently operating only the second layer, with the first layer still remaining.
If Fairy Zi Wei succeeded in her erosion and Fang Yuan destroyed the second layer of the formation, theoretically speaking, there would still be the possibility of raising the first layer of the formation to continue the resistance.
However, according to the records within the Information Path Gu Insects that Chi Gui had provided, the operator of this first layer of the Gu formation had to be a Gu Immortal of the Chi family.
This was a Gu formation personally laid by Chi Qu You. From his perspective, he naturally prioritized his own family's interests above all else.
The first layer of the Gu formation had many methods of identity verification. If it were merely a matter of bloodline, Fang Yuan would still have ways to impersonate one.
Unfortunately, it was not.
One of those methods involved the Life Plate Gu and the Soul Lamp Gu.
Fang Yuan had not left any Life Plate Gu or Soul Lamp Gu in the Chi clan.
This aspect involved the Way of Information. Fang Yuan could only sigh, helplessly cursing under his breath: "Chi Quyou, that old scoundrel."
An Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal — none of them were easy to deal with.
When Chi Quyou had made these arrangements, he certainly could not have predicted the current complex situation. But now, this measure had become a massive obstacle constraining Fang Yuan. It was a dead end, and Fang Yuan was steadily approaching its terminus.
But it had to be said — Chi Quyou's arrangement was remarkably sound.
At the very least, it was an enormous safeguard for the Chi clan.
Fang Yuan still had to be careful not to let the Chi clan Gu Immortals all die. Especially Chi Gui — if he ever fell into danger, Fang Yuan would need to use the Super Gu Formation to teleport him back.
With Chi Gui present, there would be the first layer of the Gu Formation.
Of course, what Chi Gui's attitude toward Fang Yuan would be remained an unsolved mystery.
Unless things reached the absolute limit, Fang Yuan would never activate Chi Gui.
The situation was complex. Three parties locked in chaotic battle. Fang Yuan's identity was peculiar — though he was temporarily aligned with the Southern Border Righteous Path faction, his position was anything but stable.
The variables influencing the outcome were simply too numerous.
The Wisdom Path methods were at work.
In Fang Yuan's mind, thoughts surged one after another. He was thinking so hard his brain felt like it was about to smoke.
How to escape?
This question remained unsolvable.
"Spring Autumn Cicada." A thought rose up in Fang Yuan's mind, only to be immediately dismissed by him.
The Spring Autumn Cicada absolutely could not be used.
It harbored Heavenly Will within it, and using it carried an enormous risk of failure.
In previous instances, Fang Yuan had leveraged the covert assistance of Heavenly Will to successfully reincarnate every time. But now he had already taken a stand against Heavenly Will — the heavens wished nothing more than to tear him limb from limb.
Under these circumstances, for Fang Yuan to attempt reincarnation using the Spring Autumn Cicada would be nothing short of self-deception.
The Heavenly Will inside the Spring Autumn Cicada would obliterate him directly.
Using the Spring Autumn Cicada was suicide.
Unless he followed the Shadow Sect's method and performed a Reverse Refinement. But where would Fang Yuan find the time for that now?
"That's not quite right either."
I can use my Time Path methods to accelerate the time flow within my immortal aperture. That way, if I abandon the super Gu formation and retreat into my immortal aperture, it might be possible to refine the Spring Autumn Cicada.
No, this method wouldn't work. There were still the calamities and tribulations.
If I accelerated the time flow in my immortal aperture, when the calamities and tribulations descended, Heaven's Will would manipulate them — the difficulty would be immense.
And my Time Path realm was far too low. I had absolutely no confidence that I could refine a pure Spring Autumn Cicada under such time pressure.
Moreover, this method required abandoning the super Gu formation, which was truly a foolish choice tantamount to cutting off one's own arm.
This path was blocked as well.
Fate was brimming with malice, as if all avenues of survival had been thoroughly extinguished.