"Hmph, a bunch of jumping clowns." Bai Ningbing scoffed coldly.
Hei Loulan said nothing, but her heart was filled with emotion.
Que Shen, Mei Tuo Xian, and Dong Lie Feng could be considered strong among Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals. Placed in the Southern Border, they wouldn't compare to the likes of Elder Bade of the Trees or Wu Yubo of the Wu family, but they were on par with Wu Yiran.
As for Mei Tuo Xian, his status in the Western Desert's Gu Immortal world was equivalent to that of Qiao Siliu or the Mystic Sound Fairy.
But facing Fang Yuan, who could contend with Eighth Transformation experts, these levels of strength simply didn't measure up.
"He's grown to this extent without anyone noticing. The speed is terrifying." Hei Loulan's heart trembled.
In truth, her own combat strength had also surged dramatically. But ever since she ascended to immortality, she had been constantly hunted down, with few moments to exhale in relief. It was only now—encountering enemies who retreated without fighting—that she suddenly realized their side's power was actually quite formidable.
Their previous encounters had been entirely because the enemies were too strong.
If it wasn't the Heavenly Court, it was the Longevity Heaven, or the entire Righteous Path alliance of the Southern Border.
In truth, as long as they didn't run into Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals, their current strength was more than enough to walk all over anyone.
"The number of Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals across the entire Gu Immortal world is the most scarce of all. As long as we identify the detection killer moves placed on us, we can completely withdraw to some remote corner and develop in peace. With this level of combat power as our guarantee, the vast majority of Gu Immortals won't be able to hinder our growth."
Thinking this, Hei Loulan's ambition began to swell once more.
She had the temperament of a born schemer, and her ambitions had always been vast.
Though she was bound tightly by the Shadow Sect's covenant, it was still difficult for her to simply and obediently serve as Fang Yuan's subordinate.
"Alright, we've gotten everything we need. Let's go." Fang Yuan spoke up.
Bai Ningbing, Hei Loulan, and the Mystic Sound Fairy gathered around.
The four immortals joined forces, activating the ancient battlefield's Four Directions and Eight Paths.
Whoosh!
Brilliant light burst forth in every direction, then vanished without a trace.
When Fang Yuan and the others looked around, they had arrived at an unremarkable sand dune.
The blazing sun hung high overhead. The sand beneath their feet radiated searing heat, the air warped by the high temperature, and waves of heat billowed upward.
Fang Yuan gazed into the distance.
There, stretching before him, was the Yiwei Desert. It had already been left far behind by the four of them.
"We'll rest here temporarily. Guard the four directions." Fang Yuan spoke, opening his Immortal Orifice portal and releasing the White Rabbit Girl.
He was now the leader of the Shadow Sect and possessed first-hand intelligence about it. The others, stranded in a foreign land, had all chosen to follow Fang Yuan's orders.
The four Gu Immortals flew off in their respective directions, each concealing their presence to conduct reconnaissance.
Fang Yuan plunged directly into the desert, diving deep underground, then carved out a small cave dwelling in the earth.
The cave was extremely crude, but Fang Yuan quickly arranged a number of mortal Gu, forming a Gu Formation.
This not only completely stabilized the underground chamber but also ensured a constant supply of fresh air.
Fang Yuan was now a Grandmaster of the Formation Path. Such a mortal-level Gu Formation was effortless for him—as natural as breathing.
After making rough preparations, Fang Yuan wasted no precious time. He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
Racing against every moment, he began preparing an Immortal Killer Move.
This move was called "High Morale"—a rather niche Wisdom Path killer move that Fang Yuan had obtained from Zishan True Monarch's inheritance treasury.
The core Immortal Gu of this move was a single one: the Rule Path Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu "Strife," which Fang Yuan had just obtained from the guardian Gu Formation around Corpse Land City.
The auxiliary Gu were all mortal ones, and the majority belonged to the Wisdom Path.
After all, this was a Seventh Transformation Immortal Killer Move. Despite being pressed for time, Fang Yuan didn't rush.
Step by step, methodically.
The Gu activated, forming a column of mystic light that hovered in the sky above one section of Fang Yuan's Supreme Immortal Orifice.
As more and more mortal Gu fed in, the color of the mystic light grew ever deeper.
Once it reached its limit, Fang Yuan carefully began channeling Red Date Immortal Essence into the Strife Gu.
The Immortal Essence consumption was minimal—only three units. The Strife Gu's shell flipped open, its slender wings beating nimbly, propelling its entire body to swiftly trace a silver-white line through the air.
This silver line plunged straight into the mystic light. In an instant, the light blazed forth, blindingly bright.
Boom!
The mystic light exploded and rapidly dissipated.
A large number of mortal Gu were instantly destroyed, and even the Strife Gu tumbled downward.
The killer move activation had failed!
The backlash sent a violent tremor through Fang Yuan's soul, dealing heavy damage.
A storm of thoughts erupted in his mind. Countless stray thoughts, beyond Fang Yuan's control, crashed into one another or self-destructed.
In Fang Yuan's perception, he lost control and began thinking wildly—bizarre and absurd notions flooding his mind.
Fortunately, he had been prepared for this and held firm through sheer willpower.
After a dozen or so breaths, the turmoil in his mind gradually subsided.
Fang Yuan's face was pale. He exhaled a turbid breath and began quietly healing.
The damage to his physical body was minimal, but his soul had been severely injured, and his mind had taken no small amount of harm.
This was expected.
It was Fang Yuan's first time activating this Immortal Killer Move. Despite having simulated it numerous times in his mind beforehand, there was inevitably a gap between pure theory and actual execution.
The more powerful an Immortal Killer Move, the stronger the backlash upon failure.
Moreover, the backlash varied in nature.
In Fang Yuan's case, the physical damage wasn't severe—the truly serious injuries were to his soul and mind.
After a period of treatment, Fang Yuan's injuries had basically recovered.
Currently, while Fang Yuan lacked powerful healing Immortal methods, his means were sufficient. For physical injuries, he had the Time Path Immortal Gu "Human as Before." For soul injuries, he had the Courage Gu.
For this time's mental damage, Fang Yuan also had a whole basketful of Wisdom Path techniques for self-healing.