Perfected Lord Zi Shan had lost his Immortal Aperture, which was tantamount to losing the very foundation of his cultivation. Without an Immortal Aperture to nurture, his future was shrouded in darkness.
Setting aside the future, in the present alone, the separation of his Immortal Aperture had caused him to instantly lose an enormous number of Dao Marks.
Although he had stored most of his Gu and Immortal Essence on his person, without the amplification of Dao Marks, his combat strength had plummeted to rock bottom.
But there was nothing to be done about this.
Once the Heavenly Qi was extracted, Perfected Lord Zi Shan's Immortal Aperture would instantly collapse, forming a Great Unity Wind — even more dangerous, enough to cost him his life.
The Return of Three Qi was truly too devastating.
It struck directly at the very foundation of a Gu Immortal. Even the mighty Perfected Lord Zi Shan had been forced to abandon his own Immortal Aperture. It was like a martial arts grandmaster who had spent his life mastering Iron Sand Palm, severing his own arms.
Fang Yuan, watching the battle unfold, was shaken to his core by this sight.
From ancient times to the present, those who had achieved the rank of Venerable numbered only ten.
When it involved beings of such caliber, anything could become extraordinary.
This was true of Venerable Sovereign Thief's Formless Hand, of Venerable Le Tu's Reincarnation Battlefield, and equally of Venerable Primordial Origin's Return of Three Qi.
"What can I do?" Fang Yuan racked his brains, trying to think of a way to turn the tide.
He couldn't come up with a single solution.
The only thing he could do seemed to be count his blessings.
After all, not long ago, Perfected Lord Zi Shan had already handed over all of his Heaven Crystals to him.
On one hand, he manipulated the grand Gu formation to resist Fairy Ziwei's encroachment. On the other, Fang Yuan began to mature the Supreme Heavenly Eagle. This time, he had a great many Heaven Crystals — far exceeding those from the previous Heavenly Crystal Eagle Nest — so even if the Supreme Heavenly Eagle grew to the Ancient level, it would not repeat its previous fate of starving to death.
"As expected of Dragon Lord," Perfected Lord Zi Shan spoke, offering his admiring praise.
Dragon Lord was simply too powerful.
He possessed strength approaching the Ninth Transformation.
When dealing with ordinary Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals, he could crush them outright. Only someone of Perfected Lord Zi Shan's caliber — a Peak Eighth Transformation cultivator, one of the primary split souls of Venerable Spectral Soul, who had cultivated for a hundred thousand years and amassed such power — was qualified to exchange blows with him.
But after several dozen exchanges, once Dragon Lord finished probing and discovered that Perfected Lord Zi Shan had no means to counter him in any particular aspect, he immediately deployed his trump card from the Qi Path.
The Return of Three Qi was tremendously powerful, but such a devastating killing move, once countered, would leave its user in a wretched state. It was practically picking up a rock and smashing one's own head with it.
Thus, any Gu Immortal would exercise extreme caution with such a killing move.
Much like how Fang Yuan would rather mature the Supreme Heavenly Eagle than risk using the Counter Flow Body Protection Seal.
"This battle — I suppose it's fair to say I'm bullying someone weaker. A person of your caliber… had you not been one who defies fate, perhaps we could have enjoyed a pleasant conversation. In this vast world, those worthy of my notice are truly too few."
"However, I believe that before long, the entire world will truly blossom into something vibrant and spectacular."
"And I shall be the one to draw open the curtain on this grand new era."
Dragon Lord let out a sigh, then launched his pursuit of Perfected Lord Zi Shan.
Perfected Lord Zi Shan fought as he retreated, completely on the back foot.
He had already been hit by the first two strikes of the Return of Three Qi, greatly diminishing his strength. He had never been Dragon Lord's match to begin with, and now he was even worse off.
Dragon Lord's assault was relentless and unceasing. At this point, in virtually every respect, he towered above Perfected Lord Zi Shan.
Perfected Lord Zi Shan could only cling on desperately. The killing move he had been sustaining — to refine the Pure Dream True-Seeking Body — had to be abandoned.
Ying Wuxie was still trapped within the dreamscape, and the other Gu Immortals could only watch in silence, powerless to help.
Fang Yuan clenched his teeth, his mood extremely heavy.
He hurriedly surveyed the battlefield. Dragon Lord held an overwhelming advantage, and Perfected Lord Zi Shan could no longer be relied upon. The only option left was to strike at a different target to force a diversion — attack where the enemy was weak and relieve the pressure.
However, Dragon Lord had anticipated this, having deployed his forces with foresight. Every unit he had dispatched was a tough nut to crack.
Setting Dragon Lord himself aside, Fairy Ziwei possessed the Star Constellation Chessboard, the Tower of Monitoring Heaven was solid as iron, and even Zuo Yehui's furious barrage could only chip away at its edges.
No matter how many Righteous Path Gu Immortals the Southern Border fielded, they would struggle to intervene in a battle of this magnitude.
"This is bad."
"If this keeps up, things are going to get ugly."
"Once Perfected Lord Zi Shan is completely defeated, the entire battle will tip decisively in Heaven Court's favor."
"By that time, my chances of escape will be virtually nil."
"Should I retreat now instead?"
"Take the gamble — see whether Heaven Court has already devised a counter to my Counter Flow Body Protection Seal."
Fang Yuan couldn't help but hesitate.
This was a difficult decision to make.
But just then, the battle between Perfected Lord Zi Shan and Dragon Lord took yet another turn.
The gateway to a Blessed Land burst open, and from within surged a massive army of soul beasts.
Perfected Lord Zi Shan relied on these soul beasts to hold back Dragon Lord's furious onslaught, retreating rapidly toward the Blessed Land.
"This is the Shadow Sect's Blessed Land!"
Fang Yuan's eyes blazed with sudden brilliance as he witnessed this sight.
During the great battle at Yitian Mountain, the Shadow Sect had relocated their Blessed Land to this very location. The Blessed Land contained the Gate of Life and Death, from which Venerable Spectral Soul had burst forth to resist natural calamities, unleashing his fearsome might, slaughtering Heaven Court Gu Immortals, destroying the Tower of Monitoring Heaven, and refining the Supreme Immortal Embryo Gu.