According to Jun Shenguang's intelligence, the Four Xunzi were all at the same cultivation level—Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals who had mastered a combined combat technique. Their prowess was extraordinary; they could even hold their own against an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal.
Of course, that was all—"hold their own." After a few exchanges, they would inevitably be defeated by an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal.
They were not on the same level as Fang Yuan's previous strength, or someone like Feng Jiuge, who could truly contend head-on with an Eighth Transformation expert.
Even so, this was quite remarkable. After cultivating the Four Xunzi, Spirit Butterfly Valley had always kept them as a trump card, never deploying them lightly.
"Heavenly Court wants to make arrangements within the River of Time, and Spirit Butterfly Valley has no choice but to obey. The Four Xunzi… all four of them walk the Time Path, and their coordination is seamless. They are truly excellent candidates to operate the Past and Present Pavilion."
Fang Yuan furrowed his brow slightly.
The Four Xunzi and the Past and Present Pavilion—neither had exceeded his expectations.
Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals who also walked the Time Path were indeed rare. Heavenly Court had once possessed the Yellow History Immortal, but during a previous venture into the River of Time, Fang Yuan had used Red Lotus Island to orchestrate his death.
To deal with Fang Yuan and set up defenses in the River of Time, Heavenly Court had no choice but to select from Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals for their Time Path personnel. Unless some old monsters from the Heavenly Court Immortal Tombs volunteered to crawl out once more.
What truly caught Fang Yuan's attention was that, in addition to the Past and Present Pavilion, Heavenly Court also possessed another Time Path Immortal Gu house—the Everlasting Vessel.
"The Past and Present Pavilion excels at reconnaissance and happened to be nearby, so it was the first to intercept me. I can't stay here. If the Four Xunzi successfully delay me, the Everlasting Vessel will arrive as reinforcements, creating a two-on-one situation. That would be extremely unfavorable!"
Heavenly Court held an enormous advantage. While they couldn't produce a Time Path Eighth Transformation expert, they certainly had Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals from other paths. On top of that, they had two Immortal Gu houses—the Past and Present Pavilion and the Everlasting Vessel.
In contrast, Fang Yuan's side had only a nascent Immortal Gu house. Although Fang Yuan had advanced to Eighth Transformation, Hei Loulan, Bai Ningbing, and the others all had rather thin cultivation.
Fang Yuan struck without hesitation, opening his Immortal Aperture gateway to release his second wave of Primordial Year Beasts.
The first wave he had stationed at the Five Realms Mountain Range for defense had already been injured or killed by the Southern Border Righteous Path cultivators, and Fang Yuan had had no chance to recover them.
But it didn't matter. He still had a second wave in reserve.
After absorbing Xia Cha's Immortal Aperture, Fang Yuan had gained a second Year Flower Pool, which contained Xia Cha's two Primordial Year Beasts. Additionally, over the past several months, Fang Yuan had been using the Primordial Year Beast luring array to bait and capture many more Primordial Year Beasts, confining each one within the Year Flower Pool.
Thus, Fang Yuan had gradually accumulated two batches of Primordial Year Beasts, with the second batch totaling nine.
The only shortcoming was that Fang Yuan had not collected all twelve different types of Primordial Year Beasts needed to form an ancient battle formation.
He had attempted to collect them throughout the process, but when he actually tried to execute the plan, he realized that such a collection was genuinely difficult to achieve. The ones lured most frequently were Primordial Year Chickens—in recent times, the River of Time had been producing this type of year beast in abundance.
Among Fang Yuan's second wave of Primordial Year Beasts, five were Primordial Year Chickens, already more than half the total.
Nine Primordial Year Beasts roared as they charged toward the Past and Present Pavilion.
Inside the Past and Present Pavilion, the Four Xunzi wore grave expressions. Working in concert, they simultaneously channeled the pavilion's power.
Whoosh!
A massive wave surged up, towering three zhang high, surging toward the nine Primordial Year Beasts.
The Primordial Year Beasts were creatures native to the River of Time; the waves raised by the Past and Present Pavilion could not halt their charge. In an instant, their momentum merely stuttered before they broke through the obstruction, shattering countless brilliant sprays of water, and continued their assault on the pavilion.
The surface of the Past and Present Pavilion blazed with resplendent light of myriad colors, radiant pillars shooting up into the sky.
Crash, crash, crash…
Wave after wave crashed forth like mobile ramparts, serving both offensive and defensive purposes as they smashed into the Primordial Year Beasts one after another.
Fang Yuan's mind stirred. Under his command, the Primordial Year Beasts coordinated with one another, piercing through multiple walls of water like arrows, pressing closer to the Past and Present Pavilion.
But then the Four Xunzi suddenly called out in unison. The screen inside the Past and Present Pavilion suddenly emitted wisps of ethereal green smoke.
The green smoke drifted into the battlefield. All the Primordial Year Beasts were affected, their speed dropping sharply, as if they had sunk into a swamp.
The green smoke settled downward, seeping entirely beneath the surface of the River of Time, dyeing the topmost layer a brilliant emerald hue.
The Past and Present Pavilion shuddered violently. The soaring pillar of light dissipated abruptly, transforming into a soft, shimmering jade-green radiance that blanketed all directions.
The sound of the waves surged explosively, the rising swells now several times more powerful than before, towering over ten zhang high. Not only that—dozens of whirlpools materialized on the surface of the River of Time, becoming the perfect traps to ensnare the Primordial Year Beasts.
The nine Primordial Year Beasts had originally grouped together, but after the relentless assault of towering waves and hidden whirlpools, their formation quickly fell apart, each one isolated in a desperate struggle.
In short order, the Past and Present Pavilion sat firmly at the center, commanding the battlefield. Fang Yuan's Primordial Year Beasts had been thoroughly pushed onto the back foot.
The Four Xunzi's expressions visibly relaxed.
Shang Xunzi exhaled a long breath: "We've finally survived the initial phase without being broken by the demon's onslaught."
Xun Guozi smiled: "The Past and Present Pavilion has already seized control of the battlefield. Fang Yuan may have many Primordial Year Beasts, but he can't concentrate them. They're no longer a threat."
"Exactly, exactly." Xia Xunzi stroked his beard and nodded. "Although the Past and Present Pavilion ultimately can't win and will eventually fall, we only need to stall for a short while before the Everlasting Vessel arrives as reinforcement. At that point, our combined strength will surge past the enemy's in one leap."