The Ancient Year Beast Fishing Formation's defenses were formidable. Even after sustaining a heavy blow from the Ancient Year Ape, it remained as immovable as a mountain.
But this only inflamed the Ancient Year Ape's savage fury.
Boom, boom, boom!
It raised both fists and hammered down ceaselessly. Its fists hurtled like meteors, bombarding the Immortal Fishing Formation again and again.
The formation began to shudder, and violent tremors wracked its interior. With each devastating strike from the Ancient Year Ape, a large number of mortal Gu were lost.
White Rabbit, Black Loulan, and Ying Wuxie were all hurriedly replenishing the mortal Gu.
Some Gu formations would collapse after losing even ten percent of their Gu. Some more resilient formations could still hold together after losing half.
As for the Ancient Year Beast Fishing Formation — so long as the core Immortal Gu remained intact and over sixty percent of the Gu were still present, it could continue to hold its ground.
But a defensive position held for too long would inevitably falter.
Immortal killer move — White Phase!
In the next instant, the Immortal Gu formation opened a gap, and Bai Ningbing shot out like a bolt of lightning.
Whoosh!
Her speed was extraordinary — like a snow-white cold arrow, she streaked toward the Ancient Year Ape.
The distance between them was already minimal, and with Bai Ningbing moving at such blinding speed, the Ancient Year Ape had no time to react before its throat was struck by the full force of her impact.
The Ancient Year Ape took a small step back. Sensing the pain, it let out a thunderous roar, retracted its arms, and both enormous hands lunged to grab Bai Ningbing.
In an instant, Bai Ningbing's vision went dark. Two colossal ape hands descended upon her like two vast, black clouds pressing down from above.
Bai Ningbing remained composed in the face of danger. She let out a cold snort, then immediately shot downward.
The Ancient Year Ape's hands swept down from above, while Bai Ningbing dove straight toward the ground.
Normally, at her speed, she could have easily evaded the ape's grasp. But strangely, the moment she reached the ape's midsection, she was caught up.
The Ancient Year Ape's massive hand clenched tight, crushing Bai Ningbing as casually as one might squeeze a glass marble. Then it ground its fist even harder, rubbing several times before finally opening its palm.
If Bai Ningbing had been in her normal state, she would have been reduced to a bloody paste. But before the battle commenced, she had already activated the White Phase killer move, transforming her entire body into a white frost giant standing over fifteen feet tall. Clad in ice armor, with three heads and six arms, barefoot, with two pale blue frost clouds beneath her feet.
When the Ancient Year Ape opened its hand, the White Phase had already been ground to dust.
"Trash!"
Seeing the enemy obliterated, the Ancient Year Ape let out a ferocious, triumphant laugh, shook its hand to scatter the White Phase's remnants, and then slammed its fist back onto the Immortal Gu formation.
The shards of the White Phase drifted through the air. Before long, they converged, swelled upon meeting the wind, and within a few breaths, reconstituted into a complete White Phase — the small giant form, over fifteen feet tall.
This was the true marvel of the White Phase killer move.
Having transformed into the White Phase, Bai Ningbing was no longer a body of flesh and blood. Even if only a fragment the size of a fingernail remained, she could instantly regenerate and recover completely.
"But this time, not only has my flight speed slowed, but the White Phase's recovery rate has also diminished considerably." Bai Ningbing assessed her condition even as she flew toward the Ancient Year Ape once more.
The Ancient Year Beast bore abundant Time Dao marks. Every movement it made carried the effect of Time, inscribing Time Dao marks on its surroundings. This was not to be underestimated.
Immortal killer move — Thorough Ice Blade!
Boom!
A frigid, razor-sharp blade of ice struck the Ancient Year Ape's shoulder, yet failed to cut through its skin. Compared to the Ancient Year Ape, the enormous ice blade might as well have been a tiny fruit knife.
The Ancient Year Ape seized Bai Ningbing again. She attempted to dodge but failed repeatedly.
However, no matter how many times she was destroyed, as long as any remnant existed, she could rapidly regenerate and restore herself.
This was precisely because they had scouted the Ancient Year Beast beforehand and confirmed it harbored no parasitic wild Immortal Gu. Otherwise, Bai Ningbing would never have been so bold as to personally test the Ancient Year Beast's combat strength.
The Ancient Year Ape possessed a large number of wild mortal Gu, but these Gu were of no consequence to Bai Ningbing.
The real threat came from the Ancient Year Ape itself.
After a dozen or so exchanges, Bai Ningbing's speed grew increasingly sluggish, and the White Phase's recovery time grew longer and longer.
By contrast, the Ancient Year Ape had sustained barely any injuries. A few patches of frost clung to its fur — one shake and they fell right off. Bai Ningbing's attacks could break its skin, but the Ancient Desolate Beast's regenerative abilities were simply too powerful. In just a few breaths, those shallow wounds would heal completely.
Even Bai Ningbing couldn't help but feel somewhat disheartened.
She felt like an annoying fly buzzing around the Ancient Year Ape. Yet the Ancient Year Ape devoted far more of its attention to the formation.
Boom, boom, boom!
In many instances, the Ancient Year Ape simply ignored Bai Ningbing's attacks altogether and continued hammering the Immortal Gu formation.
"This Ancient Year Beast is no ordinary foe!" Fang Yuan observed the battle for a moment before reaching his conclusion.
Just as there were differences in strength among Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu Masters, so too were there disparities among Ancient Year Beasts. This particular Ancient Year Ape was formidable enough that Bai Ningbing, even fighting at full strength, couldn't inflict any significant damage.
Despite Bai Ningbing's extraordinary talent — possessing the Northern Underworld Ice Spirit Body, one of the Ten Extreme Physiques, and the White Phase true inheritance — her foundations simply could not compare to the Ancient Year Ape, which boasted a lifespan measured in tens of millions of years.
The Ancient Year Beast Fishing Formation was suffering mounting losses. The rate at which Fang Yuan and the others replenished the Gu was gradually failing to keep pace with the consumption.
As the Ancient Year Ape grew more frenzied under Bai Ningbing's provocation, its bombardment intensified. Hairline cracks even began to appear on the formation's surface.
As the strongest combatant, Fang Yuan had no intention of joining the fight immediately.
Allowing the Ancient Year Ape to attack the Ancient Year Beast Fishing Formation was itself a tactic — it could wear down its strength.
Among Ancient Year Beasts, their capabilities varied according to their form. In terms of raw strength, the Ancient Year Ape was merely mid-tier among all the different forms. Given equal foundations, the Ancient Year Tiger, Ancient Year Ox, and Ancient Year Dragon all possessed far greater strength than the Ancient Year Ape.
But even against just the Ancient Year Ape, the Immortal Gu formation was already showing signs of buckling.
"
Fairy Miao Yin nodded. In the next instant, she flew out of the Immortal Gu formation.
Having observed the battle for some time, she was well aware of the Ancient Year Ape's ferocity and dared not emulate Bai Ningbing's close-combat approach. Instead, she immediately retreated to a distance.
Immortal killer move — Hooked Moon!
A crescent moon appeared in the center of each of her eyes, fixed upon the Ancient Year Ape's gaze.