"The Fang Yuan must be eliminated! He dared to openly attack our Righteous Path's grand formation—he truly has no fear of heaven!" the Grand Elder of the Luo Family roared.
"In this affair, our clan's Immortal Gu Master sacrificed himself valiantly. The demon Fang Yuan's hands have been stained with our clan's blood twice now. He must pay the price!" the Grand Elder of the Hou Family said in a deep voice, brimming with hatred.
The Grand Elder of the Yao Family sighed. "Fang Yuan must indeed be dealt with, but he is no ordinary demonic cultivator. His identity is extremely complex—not only is he an otherworldly demon, but he also possesses the Spring Autumn Cicada, having been reborn from the future. He destroyed the Eighty-Eight True Yang Tower, and not only does he possess Juyang's True Inheritance, he has also inherited Youhun's True Inheritance, becoming the current Sect Master of the Shadow Sect. He has even received massive support from the Langya Blessed Land. Even with the Central Continent's Heavenly Court repeatedly issuing bounties and hunting him down, he remains at large, wreaking havoc upon the world. Moreover, he grows stronger with every battle, his strength advancing at a pace that far defies all reason. To speak honestly, there is truly a trace of what a young Demon Venerable would look like."
"Hmph! The future will only produce a Great Dream Immortal Venerable, not a Great Dream Demon Venerable. Yao Family, are you afraid?" the Grand Elder of the Xia Family immediately mocked.
The Grand Elder of the Yao Family sneered. "I am merely stating the facts. If you wish to eliminate Fang Yuan, you must face this reality head-on. Just as your Xia Family lost to my Yao Family not long ago."
"You!" The Grand Elder of the Xia Family was furious.
Recently, the earth veins had been in frequent upheaval, churning massive amounts of cultivation resources from deep underground to the surface. This attracted the Righteous Path, Demonic Path, and independent cultivators of the Southern Border, all competing to seize them. During these competitions, many frictions and conflicts naturally arose. The Xia Family had recently fallen into an ambush set by the Yao Family, suffering a heavy loss, though the Yao Family had also paid a steep price. Thus, when the two spoke, their words were charged with fury.
"Enough. We are not here today to trade insults, but to discuss how to deal with Fang Yuan. If he continues his raids like this, what are we to do?" At this point, the Grand Elder of the Shang Family spoke, his tone measured and unhurried.
A silence fell.
The Shang Family had always maintained neutrality and was the most skilled in trade, maintaining ties with all the Gu Immortal families. Therefore, when the Grand Elder of the Shang Family spoke, the others had to show some respect.
After a long while, the Grand Elder of the Ba Family broke the silence. "The scoundrel Fang Yuan must have mastered a wondrous method for exploring dream realms and can derive enormous benefits from them. Otherwise, why would he have gone to such great lengths to impersonate Wu Yihai and infiltrate our Righteous Path? His attack on the formation at the Ravaging Shadow Trench, sweeping away every last dream realm, only proves this further. I wonder how the Grand Elder of the Wu Family views this matter?"
The Grand Elder of the Wu Family was none other than Wu Yihai's brother—Wu Yong.
The Wu Family had long dominated the position of the strongest among the Righteous Path. The Ba Family had been secretly coveting this status, but when Wu Yong burst onto the scene and displayed the Jade Clarity Dripping Wind Small Bamboo Tower, the Ba Family's ambitions were thwarted and the Wu Family retained its throne. Still, the Ba Family would never let slip even the smallest such opportunity.
Wu Yong was silent for a moment before speaking. "The scoundrel Fang Yuan is a fiend that everyone has the right to execute. Yesterday he raided the Chi Family's resources in every direction, and tomorrow he could suddenly appear anywhere. Our resources, and even our Gu Immortal clansmen, could fall victim to his vicious hands."
Wu Yong spoke in a bland, indifferent manner, but he made his point clear—dealing with Fang Yuan was the responsibility of all the Righteous Path in the Southern Border. The Ba Family, or anyone else, hoping for the Wu Family to take the lead and bear the brunt of the effort—that was out of the question.
Hearing Wu Yong's words, many furrowed their brows.
Wu Yong and Wu Duxiu had very different styles. Had Wu Duxiu been in charge, she would have taken the initiative without hesitation, shouldering the responsibility as was proper. That was the spirit of the Wu Family.
But Wu Yong had backed down at this moment, as if the humiliation Fang Yuan had previously inflicted upon the Wu Family simply did not exist.
The Grand Elder of the Ba Family was not about to let Wu Yong off so easily. "The reason dealing with this demon Fang Yuan is so troublesome is largely because he possesses the Immortal Travel Gu. I wonder if the Grand Elder of the Wu Family has any good methods to counter the Immortal Travel Gu?"
Wu Yong smiled bitterly. "I am ashamed—the Wu Family has no particular method to offer. I, Wu Yong, naturally cannot compare to my mother; I am adequate at defense but lack the drive for offense. In my view, the Immortal Formation that the Grand Elder of the Chi Family previously deployed was indeed effective. Although Fang Yuan breached it, it still held him off for a considerable time. Why not ask the Grand Elder of the Chi Family to deploy Immortal Formations to protect our various resource points? At the very least, it could stall Fang Yuan for some time should he launch a surprise attack."
Chi Quyou, the Grand Elder of the Chi Family, quickly spoke up. "I am ashamed! My Immortal Formations have been breached by Fang Yuan time and again—I fear I would only disappoint your expectations."
Wu Yong chuckled. "No need to be so modest, Grand Elder of the Chi Family. Fang Yuan was unable to breach your clan's Phoenix Flame Mountain. The Immortal Formation at the Ravaging Shadow Trench also withstood one of Fang Yuan's fierce assaults. It is merely that the scoundrel Fang Yuan possesses remarkable skill in the Dao of Formations—he once cultivated a close friendship with your clan's Formation Maniac. Everyone present is well aware of this fact."
Wu Yong's words carried hidden meaning. Chi Quyou gave a cold snort inwardly but did not respond, remaining silent.
The major superpowers of the Southern Border controlled numerous resource points. If Chi Quyou were to build an Immortal Formation at each one, when would he ever finish?
More critically, this matter was extremely sensitive.
Resource points were each family's exclusive treasures. Entrusting the defensive measures of these locations to an outsider would inevitably breed resentment in every family.
Among the current families, only the Chi Family had suffered from Fang Yuan's raids. Without that visceral pain, the other families lacked the strong motivation to ask Chi Quyou for his help.
Chi Quyou understood this perfectly, which was why he chose to remain silent.
Seeing Chi Quyou's silence, Wu Yong found it difficult to press any further.
At that moment, the Grand Elder of the Tie Family spoke up with great enthusiasm. "Actually, the Grand Elder of the Wu Family's method is indeed the correct approach to solving the Fang Yuan problem—but it is only half the solution. When the Grand Elder of the Chi Family deploys an Immortal Formation, it can mostly hold Fang Yuan off for a time. If a Beacon Tower of our Tie Family were positioned nearby, we could immediately teleport over to intercept Fang Yuan, forming a siege for a killing blow! With both measures combined, Fang Yuan would cease to be a threat!"
At these words, the Gu Immortals fell even more silent.
The Beacon Tower was the Tie Family's Immortal Gu House. Its greatest strength was somewhat similar to the Xiao Family's Ten Thousand Li Silk Corridor in the Western Desert. Between each Beacon Tower, Gu Immortals could teleport to one another. If multiple Beacon Towers were linked together, they could even teleport Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals!