The moment he exited the grand formation, Fang Yuan felt the Reverse Flow Protective Inscription become several times harder to maintain. He immediately stopped using this move and switched to the Time Path killer move, Winter Coat.
Immortal killer move — Familiar Face!
The next instant, Fang Yuan transformed into an Ancient Era Year Beast.
Because the transformation took place within the River of Time, the Transformation Path was also suppressed by the surrounding environment. Although he successfully activated the move, the immortal essence consumption was dozens of times greater than normal!
Fortunately, the core of Familiar Face was the Attitude Gu, which only consumed mental energy. Therefore, overall, Familiar Face did not consume much immortal essence, and Fang Yuan could still barely bear it.
Splash.
Fang Yuan transformed into an Ancient Era Year Snake, dove into the River of Time, and swiftly swam away.
"Finally broke through the encirclement and smashed through the Time Path grand formation," Fang Yuan felt a wave of relief.
The situation just now had been extremely dangerous. The longer the delay, the tighter Heavenly Court's defenses became, and the lower Fang Yuan's chances of survival dropped.
Two factors had been most critical to his breakthrough this time.
First, Fang Yuan had used his Time Path clone and the Wisdom Radiance to decipher the Time Path grand formation. With the Wisdom Radiance, Fang Yuan's Wisdom Path capabilities far exceeded what Heavenly Court had imagined, catching them completely off guard.
Second was the Five Finger Boxing Heart Sword. Now that Fang Yuan's cultivation had reached the Eighth Transformation and he possessed his own White Li Immortal Essence, he could wield the Wisdom Sword Immortal Gu. This Immortal Gu was one of the core components of the Five Finger Boxing Heart Sword, allowing Fang Yuan to push it to the fourth sword. This was his current limit — to unleash the fifth sword, he would need additional core Sword Path Immortal Gu.
"The Eighth Transformation immortal essence is being consumed rapidly." Fang Yuan inspected his immortal aperture — his reserves had already dropped near the warning line.
Despite Fang Yuan's Supreme Immortal Aperture having a faster flow of time and thus a highly efficient rate of accumulating White Li Immortal Essence, the consecutive fierce battles — especially the recent one, the grueling fight against the formidable old man Li Huang and the breakthrough through Heavenly Court's Time Path grand formation — had consumed enormous quantities.
"Retreating is the wisest option!" In this situation, only one thought occupied Fang Yuan's mind.
This was the most prudent choice. To keep fighting would be sheer folly.
"Fang Yuan, where do you think you're going!" A roar suddenly came from behind.
Fang Yuan turned his head to look, and his heart skipped a beat.
Three Immortal Gu Houses were charging after him in formation, their momentum fierce and overwhelming.
The one on the left was the Hengzhou — its towered decks soaring high as it cut through the wind and waves. On its deck, Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal Qing Ye, Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal Xun Zi, and others stood united, their righteous bearing imposing.
The one in the middle was the Three Autumn Yellow Crane Terrace. It was elegant and ethereal, with orange-yellow eaves that curved upward like a crane spreading its wings. The Gu House was perpetually shrouded in three layers of autumn light, its mystery profound.
The one on the right was the Shark Flow Lever. The massive lever was white as jade, and standing atop it was an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal clad in deep blue star armor, his features rough and rugged. Seven enormous sharks with rows of saw-white teeth hauled the massive lever before it, charging at terrifying speed.
"Three Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu Houses, at least three Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals, and an unknown number of Seventh Transformation powerhouses…" Fang Yuan's heart continued to sink. In this moment, he fully sensed the enormous determination Heavenly Court had to eliminate him!
Although Fang Yuan had transformed into an Ancient Era Year Snake, his speed was far from adequate. The destruction of the Immortal Gu House prototype further left him with no way to conceal himself.
The distance between the two sides was steadily closing, and the three Immortal Gu Houses each launched their attacks from afar.
Fang Yuan activated the Autumn Haze killer move, his back as if it had grown eyes, dodging with agility.
When dodging was no longer possible, he relied on the Winter Coat killer move to endure head-on.
The Winter Coat killer move, amplified within the River of Time and further bolstered by Fang Yuan's own Time Path Dao Marks, displayed astonishing defensive power. While not as ingenious as the Reverse Flow Protective Inscription, it could rival it in sheer resilience.
"If this keeps up, things will go badly!" The situation was deteriorating rapidly, and Fang Yuan wracked his brain for a solution.
The Disoriented Soul Imprint required too long to prepare. Placed within the River of Time, that time would be stretched even further, and its power would be diminished as well. Adding to that, the Heavenly Court side would certainly be fully on guard — hoping for the Disanded Soul Imprint to turn the tide was unlikely.
Ten Thousand Me, Ten Thousand Flood Dragons, Great Strength Handprint, King Yama, and others shared the same problem.
What Fang Yuan could rely on were Time Path methods such as Spring Scissors and Summer Fan.
But the three Immortal Gu Houses pursuing him were each solid as fortresses — Spring Scissors and Summer Fan could do nothing against them for the time being.
During the prolonged chase, Fang Yuan's immortal essence reserves dropped rapidly, the situation growing ever more dire.
The Heavenly Court side pursued Fang Yuan relentlessly, their morale soaring high, their spirits galvanized.
Suddenly, ahead on the river's surface, a change occurred — massive geysers erupted one after another.
"Damn it — this is the Spring Eruption segment!"
"This demon is proficient in Fortune Path with astonishing fortune — extremely difficult to kill. Sure enough, a complication arose here!"
"Keep up! We absolutely cannot let him escape!"
The Heavenly Court forces all shouted, tension written across their faces.
Fang Yuan plunged straight into the Spring Eruption segment.
The sudden geysers were extremely dangerous, carrying Time Path power. In sufficient scale, they could completely threaten the life of an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal.
Under normal circumstances, Fang Yuan would have avoided this area at all costs, but right now, the Spring Eruption segment had become his only hope of escape.
The Ancient Era Year Snake wound its way through the river as geysers erupted around Fang Yuan time and again, yet the actual disruption they caused him was not particularly great.
Fang Yuan possessed the Fortune Inspecting Gu, and his Supreme Immortal Body's Dao Marks did not conflict with one another — he could clearly feel his fortune plummeting violently and ceaselessly.