The truth had already been roughly sketched out, taking shape in the hearts of the Southern Border's Immortals.
"Among these Year Beasts, there are very likely Primordial Year Beasts — and not a few at that. With the help of these Year Beasts, Fang Yuan very well could have fought off our pursuit squad. Moreover, this demon Fang Yuan inherited the Shadow Sect and its countless true inheritances. Building a Time Path Grand Formation to trap our people is well within his capabilities."
Chi Quyou paused at this point, furrowing his brows once more. "There's one thing I still don't understand. If it were an Immortal Aperture that had descended and hidden itself by shrinking slightly, it would be perfectly normal for Gu Immortals to miss it. But a Time Path Grand Formation hidden this well? Neither Xia Cha nor Lu Weiyin detected it?"
Time Path Grand Formations had nothing to do with the Void, Space, or Theft Paths. They were not adept at concealing themselves or going undetected.
Xia Cha and the others being trapped by the Grand Formation, fighting the Primordial Year Beasts, and ultimately being captured because of the Dream Realm — that was understandable.
But!
The most abnormal thing was how it all began. None of them had noticed a thing — they had fallen straight into Fang Yuan's ambush, every last one of them.
This point left even Chi Quyou, a grandmaster of the Formation Path, bewildered.
Of course, it wasn't impossible for a Time Path Grand Formation to conceal itself — but achieving this level of concealment was extremely difficult, far harder than with the Space, Theft, or Void Paths.
In all of Chi Quyou's experience, he had never heard of a Time Path Immortal Formation capable of hiding itself to such a degree — enough to evade the detection of two Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals.
"The Dream Realm is dissipating — wait, there's someone inside!" someone cried out.
Just then, the changes in the Dream Realm interrupted the Southern Border Immortals' train of thought. A small remnant of the Dream Realm had lingered on the battlefield — and there was someone inside?
Before long, the figure's true appearance was revealed. It was Lu Weiyin.
His arms were crossed over his chest, eyes tightly shut — like a stone statue, deep in slumber, completely motionless.
But as the Dream Realm dissipated, he quickly opened his eyes and came to his senses.
"You—" Seeing Wu Yong and the others, Lu Weiyin's expression shifted. He immediately looked around and blurted, "This is bad!"
"Lord Lu Weiyin, please tell us in detail exactly what happened to you all."
"Indeed! Were our clan's Gu Immortals truly captured by Fang Yuan — fallen into this demon's hands?"
"Hold on — we haven't even confirmed his identity yet."
The Southern Border Immortals all spoke at once, turning the scene into a clamor.
"Let's verify his identity first. The demon Fang Yuan possesses the Familiar Face Upon Meeting killer move, and he also has means to escape from dreams quickly." Wu Yong said.
Nearby, Chi Quyou remained silent, simply shifting his position so that he and Wu Yong had Lu Weiyin bracketed between them.
Lu Weiyin blinked in surprise, then nodded. "Of course."
The Southern Border Immortals naturally had their own unique methods of verification. And to ensure safety, there was more than one — the process was quite elaborate.
After a short while, the expressions of Wu Yong and the others eased somewhat. Lu Weiyin had proven his identity — it was genuinely him, no mistake about it, not a disguise by Fang Yuan.
Immediately after, Lu Weiyin quickly relayed the details of his encounter to the Southern Border Immortals.
Upon hearing this, the Southern Border Immortals' faces turned ashen, and they once again fell into a deathly silence.
Lu Weiyin shook his head and sighed. "I am ashamed — I had no offensive means and could only watch helplessly as things unfolded. Had I not possessed my own unique methods for defending myself within the Dream Realm, I too would have fallen into Fang Yuan's hands by now."
"Say no more. Let's return for now." Wu Yong gave Lu Weiyin a long look, flicked his wide sleeves, and was the first to step into the Jade Clear Dripping Wind Small Bamboo Tower.
Long after the Southern Border Immortals had departed, a streak of wondrous light descended from above and took the form of Jun Shenguang, a Gu Immortal of the Heavenly Court.
Jun Shenguang surveyed the remnants of the battlefield. After a moment, he too furrowed his brow, murmuring to himself, "This Time Path Grand Formation is truly extraordinary. Judging from the Dao Mark traces, it shouldn't have incorporated any Void, Space, or Theft Path elements. It's not a composite Immortal Formation — just a pure Time Path Immortal Formation, yet it still managed to conceal itself and elude the notice of both Xia Cha and Lu Weiyin."
The depth of an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal's foundation was truly formidable.
Xia Cha held the position of Supreme Grand Elder of the superpower Xia Family, and her methods were extensive. Lu Weiyin, moreover, was the successor of Letu — and Letu had been one of the Immortal Venerables. Yet the two of them had failed to detect this Grand Formation, leading a group of Southern Border Immortals straight into an ambush.
Jun Shenguang inspected the area several more times, and only after confirming there were no other traces did he transform back into a streak of wondrous light and vanish swiftly.
Supreme Blessed Land.
A grand formation emanated silver-white radiance, resembling a castle suspended abruptly in the Small Green Heaven.
Fang Yuan's Time Path clone and the Shadow Sect Immortals surrounded the Immortal Formation, watching the prisoners within.
Most of these prisoners were the Southern Border Immortals Fang Yuan had captured in this ambush. Shang Huzhang, Tie Quzhong, Yang Ku, and others — all formidable figures, strong among the Seventh Transformation — were now tightly imprisoned, eyes shut tight, trapped within the Dream Realm.
As for the strongest among them, the Eighth Transformation Time Path Gu Immortal Xia Cha, she had received Fang Yuan's special attention. Dense, rolling waves of Dream Realm surrounded her, thick and concentrated.
A mere will, when trapped in the Dream Realm, would be gradually eroded — but once freed, it would recover immediately. The soul was different, however. Even after escaping the Dream Realm, it would remain trapped in dreams for a time, unable to break free, as if struck by the Soul-Luring Dream killer move.