Since his rebirth, Fang Yuan's strength had been advancing by leaps and bounds at a pace that astounded the world.
This was especially true recently. He had broken through to the Eighth Transformation, and his collection of Immortal Gu was incredibly rich — unmatched in all the world.
However, his strength was still not enough to seize the Heavenly Court's Dragon Palace by force.
Competing for the Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu House, the Dragon Palace, were Long Gong, who possessed near-Immortal Venerable strength, along with multiple Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals from the Eastern Sea. Together they represented the absolute pinnacle of Gu Immortal power in that region.
Fang Yuan had simply risen too quickly. In front of peak powerhouses of an entire domain, in front of Long Gong, trying to seize an Immortal Gu House — especially one that still possessed the power to fight back — Fang Yuan was clearly outmatched.
But Fang Yuan knew he absolutely could not stand by and do nothing.
If the Heavenly Court obtained the Dragon Palace, it would be like a tiger growing wings. That mysterious Dream Path Immortal Gu was definitely no simple thing! It was likely forged from the fortune of heaven and earth, the catalyst that the Heavenly Dao had bestowed upon the Eastern Sea for its Dream Path era.
At such a time, bringing in Longevity Heaven's power would only make the situation more chaotic.
But only through greater chaos could Fang Yuan fish in troubled waters.
Fang Yuan had recently advanced to the Eighth Transformation, yet when facing any Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal from the Eastern Sea, he did not dare be careless. Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals possessed deep and vast foundations — the slightest lapse in attention could lead to being struck by their killer moves.
As for Long Gong, Fang Yuan understood all too well that his combat power was far inferior. After all, Fang Yuan had personally witnessed how Long Gong defeated Purple Mountain True Lord.
"In order to protect Feng Jinhuang, Long Gong had never gone all out. His Qi Path methods — I have never once seen him use them. Yet even so, relying solely on Transformation Path techniques, he was still the strongest one in the field, constantly besieged by the combined attacks of others."
"Bai Ningbing and the others are still cultivating on Red Lotus Island. Even with the support of their future selves, their combat power peaks at the Seventh Transformation."
"It's a pity my Immortal Gu House prototype was lost. If I still had it, after all this time of development, it would surely have reached Eighth Transformation level combat power, which would have helped me tremendously."
"If I had managed to steal the Versatility Immortal Gu and others from the Beast Calamity Grotto-Heaven, I could have deployed the Myriad Things Great Unity Transformation, temporarily granting me even greater combat power. Unfortunately, the timing was far off, and the Celestial Aspect killer move is still under investigation."
Fang Yuan felt a twinge of regret.
But reality was like this — not everything could fall into place perfectly.
The Dragon Palace showed no signs of fatigue, and not all of the Eastern Sea's Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals had arrived. Long Gong was clearly waiting for reinforcements from the Heavenly Court, so the final contest over the Immortal Gu House would still take some time.
Regarding his sudden shift in attitude toward Longevity Heaven, Fang Yuan naturally had his reservations. But even if they harbored ill intentions toward him, drawing them into this great battle would still be more beneficial than harmful for Fang Yuan.
It would simultaneously help seize the Dragon Palace, strike a blow against the Heavenly Court, and serve as a probe of Longevity Heaven — accomplishing three goals with one move.
Yet several days later, instead of Bing Saichuan arriving in person, Fang Yuan received only a critical piece of intelligence from him — the Heavenly Court had discovered a Stone Lotus Island within the River of Time, and had already taken control of it!
Bing Saichuan advised Fang Yuan: "You possess the Spring Autumn Cicada and are the legitimate successor of the Red Lotus True Inheritance. If the Heavenly Court snatches away your opportunity, it will harm you while greatly strengthening them. Red Lotus Demon Venerable damaged Fate Gu — it is very likely that his True Inheritance contains a shortcut to help us completely destroy Fate!"
There was nothing wrong with Bing Saichuan's words — he did not know that Fang Yuan had already inherited a Red Lotus True Inheritance.
Fang Yuan had not obtained any shortcut from it, but what if another Red Lotus True Inheritance contained one?
That was impossible to say.
Of course, this could also be false intelligence from Bing Saichuan, a trap designed to lure Fang Yuan in.
Now Fang Yuan faced two choices: continue focusing on the Dragon Palace, or head to the River of Time and compete with the Heavenly Court forces for the Red Lotus True Inheritance.
The former was a scene of chaos, filled with peril at every turn. The latter was no different — the risks were equally great.
Fang Yuan keenly sensed that this choice was critically important. He couldn't help but fall into deep contemplation: in this situation, how should he decide?
Southern Border.
Moral Paradise.
Two Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals climbed the mountain side by side, their auras completely suppressed, appearing like ordinary mortals.
The one on the left wore a gray hemp robe, plain and simple, with a sturdy build like a bear. A wide straw hat sat atop his head, shading his face so that only a broad, thick chin was visible.
This was none other than the figure renowned throughout the Southern Border's Gu Immortal world — the current successor of Moral Paradise, Lu Weiyin.
The one on the right was a woman. Her skin was like pristine snow, dark hair cascading down to her waist, eyes deep as shadowed pools, a melancholic sorrow shading her brow. She wore a purple silk palace gown, magnificent and mysterious.