The Gu Refinement Hall was filled with white radiance.
The brilliance blazed in all directions, impossible to look upon directly.
A rich aura, somewhere between mortal Gu and Immortal Gu, clearly indicated that the refinement had reached its most critical stage.
Fang Yuan stood bathed in the deepest depths of the white light, devoting his entire consciousness to the task. Beside him stood the Refinement Path Gu Immortal Mao Liu, his face etched with tension and anxiety.
"Now!" Mao Liu suddenly spoke — and in a shocking move, he dissolved the entire Refinement Path Gu Formation!
As it turned out, the most suitable method for refining the Heavenly Secret Immortal Gu was the Light Path refining technique. Any other path's method would be far less efficient — twice the effort for half the result — and some might even produce counterproductive effects.
Moreover, at this final step, the Refinement Path Gu Formation itself had to be removed entirely, relying solely on the Gu Immortal's spiritual insight and inspired intuition to complete the last stage.
This was the most unique aspect of refining the Heavenly Secret Immortal Gu — almost no other Immortal Gu carried such a requirement.
Only the Heavenly Secret Immortal Gu could brook no constraints or limitations. It could only be forged in a state of absolute freedom and wondrous motion.
Without question, this posed an enormous test for the refining Gu Immortal.
Because in that single instant, the Gu Immortal had to replace the function of the Immortal Formation itself and guide the entire refinement process to its final step.
But the Gu Immortal's guiding influence could not exceed its proper bounds. Once it went too far, constraints and limitations would arise, and the Heavenly Secret Immortal Gu would fail to condense.
This required maintaining a wondrous balance — its subtleties impossible to put into words, understood only through the personal experience of the one doing the refining.
The final step.
Countless thoughts surged through Fang Yuan's mind. Employing Wisdom Path techniques, he seamlessly assumed the role the Immortal Formation had played.
The surrounding white light was piercingly bright, but under Fang Yuan's guidance, it began to converge and contract.
Gradually, these rays condensed around Fang Yuan's body into the shape of a ring.
The enormous ring enclosed him at its center. At first it was nothing more than gathered light, but after a few breaths, it acquired tangible substance.
After a dozen or so breaths, the illumination in the Gu Refinement Hall had returned to normal, while the ring had solidified completely — the size of a house, its entire surface as though cast from white platinum.
The ring hovered silently.
Fang Yuan stood at its very center.
Mao Liu held his breath, a faint excitement stirring within: "The Refinement Path killer move, Heavenly Light Revolution, has finally taken shape. But it needs to rotate at least seven times to truly refine a Seventh Transformation Heavenly Secret Immortal Gu."
First rotation.
Fang Yuan's will shifted gently, and the ring began to turn — slowly, at a very deliberate pace.
This single rotation took the time of a full cup of tea before the ring completed one complete revolution.
"The first rotation succeeded." Mao Liu exhaled a turbid breath.
Second rotation.
Fang Yuan slowly opened his tightly shut eyelids.
From his eyes, a strange light blazed forth and struck the ring.
The ring, which had been utterly still, seemed to draw momentum from that gaze and began turning once more.
This time, the rotation was noticeably faster than before.
After half a cup of tea, the revolution was complete.
"The second rotation also succeeded." Mao Liu clenched his fist.
Third rotation.
Fang Yuan's breathing grew heavy and labored.
This was, of course, no ordinary breathing — he was activating a Refinement Path killer move to forcibly channel his energy.
His breath interacted with the ring, and it began spinning again.
This time it turned even faster, completing the revolution after only a brief moment.
"The third rotation is done as well." Mao Liu's heart was pounding.
Fourth rotation.
Fang Yuan opened his mouth and began to chant in a low voice.
Under the power of his chanting, the ring's rotation grew increasingly fierce.
Before long, the fourth rotation was also complete.
"Seven rotations total — more than half done! But it will only get harder from here, because the ring spins faster with each revolution, making it extremely difficult to control." Sweat was already dripping from Mao Liu's forehead.
When the fourth rotation ended, Fang Yuan did not rush to continue. He rested for a good while before activating the Refinement Path killer move once more, setting the ring spinning under its own momentum.
Fifth rotation.
Fang Yuan's arms had been hanging naturally at his sides, but now he slowly began to raise them.
As though two mountains hung from his arms, Fang Yuan lifted them in an extraordinarily heavy, ponderous motion.
The ring began rotating on its own, but unlike the previous times, it also started to rise slowly into the air.
Higher and higher from the floor — when it rose from Fang Yuan's waist to his shoulders, it suddenly lurched to a halt!
"Not good!" Mao Liu's face changed drastically. At the same instant, the ring violently self-destructed.
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion erupted, but before the shockwave could spread, the entire Gu Refinement Hall suppressed it.
Yet Fang Yuan, at the center, bore the full force of the blast.
Pfft!
Fang Yuan's face went deathly white, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
A critical injury!
The Immortal Gu — As Before.
Fang Yuan immediately activated this Immortal Gu. Its invariably effective powers showed their worth at once, reducing his critical injury to a light wound — but the wound was not fully healed.
When Fang Yuan failed the refinement of the Seventh Transformation Heavenly Secret and sustained injuries, using the Sixth Transformation As Before Gu had an effect — but As Before's Time Path power could not completely erase the damage.