Fang Yuan charged straight at Feng Jiuge.
Of course, he was already shrouded in an Immortal clothes, its surface rippling with shimmering light, adorned with long, curving ribbons that wound around his waist and arms.
As Fang Yuan surged forward, the ribbons of the Immortal clothes fluttered and danced in his wake.
Immortal killer move — Reverse Flow River Body Guard Seal!
"Again with this move." Feng Jiuge saw it and sighed inwardly. This move gave him a terrible headache, leaving him with no good options.
So Feng Jiuge chose to retreat directly.
He pulled away from Fang Yuan with ease, widening the distance between them.
"Controlling the Reverse Flow Body Guard Seal consumes too much mental energy. Fang Yuan simply can't afford to split his attention for anything else. Even if he has movement-based Immortal methods, he won't be able to use them. This means that while the seal is active, apart from his defense, everything else about him is thoroughly unremarkable."
Feng Jiuge analyzed silently, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
The enemy advances, I retreat. Fang Yuan couldn't catch up to Feng Jiuge — he tried several times, all to no avail.
Feng Jiuge's eyes flickered with thought, his mind running nonstop: "Why is it still just Fang Yuan alone?"
In this battle against Feng Jiuge, there was no Bai Ningbing, Hei Loulan, or anyone else at Fang Yuan's side. That meant Feng Jiuge only had to face Fang Yuan directly — the strategy of eliminating the other Gu Immortals he had employed in their previous clash was rendered pointless.
"But that also means Fang Yuan has absolutely no hope of winning. Even with extraordinary defense, he's nothing more than a target. In terms of both offense and movement, he can't compare to me. The initiative on the battlefield is his to surrender."
"No — Fang Yuan is never this foolish. He must have some other scheme up his sleeve."
Feng Jiuge didn't let his guard down; instead, he grew even more cautious.
When Fang Yuan charged at him, he retreated to a safe distance, maintaining a wide gap.
"Feng Jiuge, you came chasing after me, and now all you're doing is running away?" Fang Yuan sneered and challenged.
Feng Jiuge's smile widened. "Why bother with empty bravado? Fang Yuan, catch up to me first, then we'll talk. Maintaining the Reverse Flow Body Guard Seal isn't easy — the longer you hold it, the more mentally exhausted you'll become. Before long, your Immortal Essence will be running dry, I suspect. Such a powerful method must come with a tremendous cost."
Feng Jiuge held the initiative firmly, dominating not only in speed but also in tactics, keeping Fang Yuan suppressed.
This battle was entirely different from their last encounter.
Last time, they had clashed in a raging storm of attacks from the very start. This time, one pursued and the other fled, and apart from a few exchanged words, the battle was eerily silent.
Fang Yuan gave a cold snort. Feng Jiuge's tactics demanded a response, and he had one ready.
Five hundred years of future experience was no joke. Setting everything else aside, his combat experience alone was absolutely unparalleled and refined.
The next moment, Fang Yuan dove straight down, landing on the ground.
Feng Jiuge didn't pursue. Instead, he hovered cautiously high in the air, carefully surveying the desert below.
Last time he had suffered the consequences of unfavorable terrain, when Fang Yuan lured him into the Echoless Gobi and turned it to his advantage.
Feng Jiuge had learned that lesson well. On his way here, he had already done his homework thoroughly and found nothing special about this stretch of desert.
*Pfft.*
With a soft sound, Fang Yuan burrowed directly into the desert, heading deep underground.
Feng Jiuge continued scouting, deploying Immortal methods to confirm there truly was nothing suspicious, then unleashed his Fist Drum and Palm Bell to bombard the sand below.
*Boom boom boom!*
*Dong dong dong!*
In an instant, the cacophony of drums and bells tore through the air, blasting deep craters into the desert. Vast plumes of sand erupted skyward, blanketing the surrounding several li in a haze of brown-yellow dust.
But Fang Yuan paid no heed, continuing to press deeper underground.
Feng Jiuge frowned.
The deeper underground, the more Earth Path Dao Marks there would be — naturally unfavorable for Feng Jiuge.
At the same time, doubt gnawed at him: "Fang Yuan is so confident this time. Could it be that he made preparations underground in advance? Or perhaps he knows of some special environment beneath this desert that he can exploit?"
Various thoughts flashed rapidly through Feng Jiuge's mind, and then he shot downward like lightning.
His entire body pierced the desert like an arrow, plunging underground to give chase.
He had no choice but to pursue.
If Fang Yuan were underground using Immortal formations to strip away the tracking killer moves placed on him, Feng Jiuge would certainly have to follow him down regardless.
Even if Fang Yuan wasn't removing the tracking methods but instead was setting up Gu formations or battlefield killer moves underground, then if Feng Jiuge hesitated and failed to pursue, he would be giving Fang Yuan ample time to prepare everything thoroughly. That would be far too foolish.
So Feng Jiuge had to chase — he had to pressure Fang Yuan, forcing him to reveal more of his trump cards and disrupting his combat rhythm.
Fist Drum, Palm Bell!
Even deep underground, Feng Jiuge's Sound Path killer moves were devastatingly powerful.
Explosions erupted constantly around Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan's expression remained calm and composed.
Without the Echoless Gobi's terrain advantage this time, Fang Yuan fully felt the might of Feng Jiuge's offensive.
Even underground, where Earth Path Dao Marks grew richer and more numerous, Feng Jiuge's killer moves still carried crushing pressure.
This was the advantage of Sound Path.
Every Path had its own unique strengths and weaknesses.
Sound Path, though a minor Path, possessed its own advantages.
That advantage was that sound propagated easily and was less affected by Dao Mark interference. To illustrate — a typical Path's killer move, such as an Earth Path technique, when confronted with an environment rich in Water Path Dao Marks, might lose fifty to sixty percent of its power. But a Sound Path killer move of equivalent power would only be weakened by twenty to thirty percent.
"If not for the Reverse Flow Body Guard Seal, taking this many hits, I wouldn't have been able to hold on until now."
"How exactly did Feng Jiuge cultivate? At the Seventh Transformation level, he already possesses Dao Mark accumulation comparable to the Eighth Transformation?"
"No time to dwell on this. Time to counterattack!"
Immortal killer move — Ancient Sword Flood Dragon Transformation!