"Die!" Jing Lan roared, watching the beam of light bombard Fang Yuan, her eyes filled with delight.
Although she possessed Eighth Transformation cultivation and formidable combat strength, she had spent her entire life living in the shadow of the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable. Within the Heavenly Court, she had been jolted awake by the self-destruction of Soul Swinging Mountain, and when she saw the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable making a desperate last stand, the emotions buried deepest within her heart were all stirred up.
"Fear, rage, pity, schadenfreude, and... dread! Spectral Soul, you were once so powerful, yet now you've become a prisoner of the Heavenly Court. Now your successor will be slain by my hand — my awakening truly came at the perfect moment. Kill your successor, and I will uproot the terror you planted deepest in my heart!"
"And then, I will bring you Fang Yuan's head. In the end, you too will die by my hand. Hahaha, one day, you will die at my hand as well. Unbelievable, like a dream — hahaha!"
In that moment, Thunder Ghost True Monarch Jing Lan laughed wildly in her heart.
"Something's wrong, stop!" Just then, Jing Lan suddenly heard a voice.
"Too late!" Jing Lan's eyes were brimming with killing intent and bloodlust, but she was momentarily stunned.
"This voice sounds familiar... that's right, it's that junior, Purple Violet Fairy! So it's not reinforcements for Fang Yuan — wait, what does she mean?" A thought flashed through Jing Lan's mind like lightning across the sky.
The bloodlust in Jing Lan's eyes immediately dissipated by more than half, revealing reason and clarity.
She hurriedly attempted to retreat.
"It's already too late!" Fang Yuan's expression suddenly changed dramatically. The previous panic and fear vanished in an instant, replaced by an iron will to prevail and soaring fighting spirit!
He swung his dragon body, not only showing no intention of dodging but charging upward against the sky, aiming directly at Jing Lan's killing blow. Then, with a thunderous crash, he collided head-on!
The beam of light struck Fang Yuan's body hard, but the layer of Reverse Flow Protection Seal covering his dragon body changed form in that instant — not only reverting to its original state, but now flowing with threads of mysterious arcane light.
At the critical moment, the Reverse Flow Protection Seal underwent a completely new transformation!
A technique change!
The beam of light could not penetrate this layer of Reverse Flow Protection Seal at all, and was entirely reflected back.
"What?!" Jing Lan's pupils contracted sharply. Despite being a seasoned veteran of countless battles, her expression changed dramatically in that moment, revealing shock.
In her previous exchanges with Fang Yuan, she had used restrained measures. Even if they were reflected back, she could either absorb or endure them.
But this strike was completely different!
This was her full-power strike, an Immortal Killer Move at the Eighth Transformation level.
With this strike, she was absolutely certain — one blow would not only shatter the Reverse Flow Protection Seal but also kill Fang Yuan.
But now, her ultimate attack had been entirely reflected back.
Jing Lan had pushed Fang Yuan into a position where he had no room to dodge, and the two were extremely close to each other. Now Jing Lan wanted to evade, but there wasn't enough time. Emotionally, she was shaken by the shadow that the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable had planted deep in her heart. And most critically, her condition was far from optimal!
As an Eighth Transformation cultivator, although she had the ability to delve deep into the World Wall, she was not a Supreme Immortal Body, and her body still suffered from backlash and injury.
During this pursuit of Fang Yuan, when she held the upper hand and was reveling in her revenge, Jing Lan hadn't noticed. But now, when she tried to dodge, she suddenly realized — her condition had deteriorated to such an extent!
All of these factors compounded, and facing the beam of light, Jing Lan had no choice but to endure it head-on.
BOOM—!
The beam of light crashed into Jing Lan's body, erupting in blinding radiance, as though the sun itself had descended onto the battlefield. Even Fang Yuan, transformed into an ancient sword dragon, had to squeeze his eyes shut in that moment.
But the next moment, when the radiance dimmed slightly, Fang Yuan forced his eyes open despite the pain.
Kill!
He barely made out Jing Lan's petite, fragile figure amid the blinding, boundless light.
The fierce, heavy armor that had once enveloped her entire body had now completely dissolved and collapsed, revealing her physical immortal body.
Having been struck by her own full-power attack, Jing Lan's eyes rolled back, blood sprayed from every pore in her body, and she fell into a brief state of unconsciousness.
Fang Yuan opened his massive jaws, his dragon teeth sharp as lances. His dragon body lunged forward, and he pounced right in front of Jing Lan.
His muscles bulged to exaggerated proportions as Fang Yuan's dragon claws tore down with savage force!
"Damn it! Damn it! I've fallen into his trap!" At the Heavenly Court, Purple Violet Fairy's eyes were wide with anger and self-reproach. "He actually calculated the Reverse Flow Protection Seal to this extent — he even had a technique change prepared. The original Reverse Flow Protection Seal was a trap designed specifically for me. Once I figured it out, he switched techniques, and the Reverse Flow Protection Seal after the change was completely different — brand new. This Fang Yuan... incredible... how deep can his wisdom path mastery possibly be?!"
Purple Violet Fairy had always tried to overestimate Fang Yuan, but the reality before her dealt her a harsh slap in the face.
She had believed she held the upper hand. Since the battle at the Reverse Flow River, she had been collecting intelligence and working to calculate the Reverse Flow Protection Seal. Throughout the subsequent events — including Feng Jiu Ge's pursuit of Fang Yuan — she had been calculating at full capacity behind the scenes, all the way up to Thunder Ghost True Monarch's deployment this time.
She felt that after accumulating efforts over multiple occasions, she would finally be able to reap the rewards. Yet she never expected that all of this had been Fang Yuan's trap and calculation.
The wisdom path mastery Fang Yuan demonstrated far exceeded what Purple Violet Fairy had anticipated!
"But how is this possible? Wait — did he borrow the power of the Zhi Hui Gu? But the Zhi Hui Gu is clearly a wild gu. Only a Ninth Transformation Venerable can refine and subdue this gu for their own use. Fang Yuan is merely a Seventh Transformation cultivator. Looking across the entire Langya Sect, no one has such ability. Even with Ninth Transformation Immortal Essence preserved, one would still need a Venerable's will to contend with the Zhi Hui Gu. The Heavenly Court's records clearly state that after the Star Constellation Immortal Venerable reached the Ninth Transformation, she spent nearly one hundred years attempting to refine and subdue the Ninth Transformation Zhi Hui Gu!"
Purple Violet Fairy was utterly baffled.