The sudden appearance of the Year Closing Tower in the River of Time shocked not Fang Yuan's side, but Heavenly Court.
This was because Heavenly Court had only deployed four Time Path Immortal Gu Houses here. The fifth — the Year Closing Tower — had come from the Northern Plains, owned by one of the Golden Tribes.
"When did an Immortal Gu House slip in undetected?!"
"No good — what is it going to do to the River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation?!"
"Stop it, quickly!"
Heavenly Court's side erupted in shouts, and even the Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals showed alarm on their faces.
Bing Saichuan laughed heartily, cold energy radiating from his entire body. He slammed both palms down hard, smashing the entire Eternal Vessel to the riverbed and sending it away.
Fang Yuan bellowed, summoning all his strength to assault the Three Autumns Yellow Crane Platform. His iron fists swung like a tempest, beating it back step by step.
The Past and Present Pavilion was already frozen over, sinking beneath the surface of the River of Time, vanishing from sight.
On the Shark Stream Sled, Xing Yewang's face was ashen as he fought to rush back, trying to stop the Year Closing Tower, but he was too far away.
Under the watchful eyes of all the immortals, the Year Closing Tower approached the River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation, and a gentle, lustrous white glow began to shimmer within its gate.
Then, a voice came from inside: "Watch closely — this is my Five Elements Mystic Light!"
Buzz —!
Amid a piercing hum, a beam of five-colored radiance shot from the tower, striking the River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation dead center.
The five-colored light resembled five interweaving streams of color, merging and complementing each other. Wherever it passed, the layers of the River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation dissolved silently, and in the blink of an eye, a massive gap had been torn open!
"Quick, quick, quick — repair the formation!"
"What kind of ability is this?! The River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation has no way to resist?!"
The Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals managing the grand formation were both shocked and furious.
Feng Jiuge's pupils contracted sharply as he recognized the attacker: "That must be the Eighth Transformation loose immortal from the Northern Plains — the Five Elements Grand Master! He specializes in the Formation Path and excels at replicating the five great schools of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. He is a grand master of formation work. He's actually been recruited by Eternal Heaven!"
After unleashing this strike, the Five Elements Grand Master was panting heavily, his aura plummeting to rock bottom.
His Five Elements Mystic Light was supremely suited for dismantling Immortal formations. He had been preparing this move for a long time, and once unleashed, the results were staggering — nearly a quarter of the entire River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation had been destroyed, teetering on the verge of total collapse.
Of course, this was also partly because Fang Yuan had provided key intelligence to Eternal Heaven.
Fang Yuan had a rather deep understanding of the River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation, having been imprisoned inside it and then personally breaking through it to escape.
With that intelligence, the Five Elements Grand Master had been able to refine his Five Elements Mystic Light to specifically counter the River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation!
Once the formation was breached, the inside and outside were connected. Stone Lotus Island within was now exposed to the eyes of all the immortals.
Fang Yuan laughed heartily and leaped upward.
Boom!
He slammed down with tremendous force, crushing the Three Autumns Yellow Crane Platform beneath the river surface and sending up a colossal spray of water.
Then, like a cannonball, he shot straight into the formation, hurtling toward Stone Lotus Island.
The Gu Immortals inside the River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation were in chaos, drenched in sweat as they struggled to maintain the formation and prevent its total collapse. Once this grand formation crumbled, its operators would suffer devastating backlash. By maintaining the formation, these Gu Immortals were saving their own lives.
The formation was too busy saving itself to do anything about Fang Yuan slipping through, and could only watch helplessly.
"Red Lotus True Inheritance!" Fang Yuan gazed at Stone Lotus Island, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. Within his Time Path clone, the Spring Autumn Cicada trembled. Things were different now — the Spring Autumn Cicada had reached the Seventh Transformation, and combined with the Immortal Killer Move that Fang Yuan had personally designed, the authenticity of Stone Lotus Island was instantly verified.
It was as real as real could be!
The last Red Lotus True Inheritance had brought Fang Yuan enormous gains, pulling him out of a desperate situation in one fell swoop. If he obtained this Red Lotus True Inheritance as well, what level of advancement could he achieve?
"Fang Yuan, don't you dare escape!" At that moment, Xing Yewang roared, driving the Shark Stream Sled and charging at Fang Yuan's back.
"Get lost!" At the critical moment, Bing Saichuan appeared, blocking the Shark Stream Sled.
"Fang Yuan, hurry and claim the Red Lotus True Inheritance!" Bing Saichuan shouted to Fang Yuan even as he fought.
Fang Yuan gave Bing Saichuan a deep look. So far, Eternal Heaven's intentions to cooperate seemed genuinely sincere. Without a second's hesitation, he pressed on toward Stone Lotus Island.
"Not so fast!" The Eternal Vessel, carrying the Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal Qing Ye, swept around the battle between Bing Saichuan and Xing Yewang and plunged in.
"You want to catch up? Heh heh, you'll have to get past me first." The Year Closing Tower materialized without warning, blocking Qing Ye's path.
Qing Ye furrowed his brows and sneered: "The Eternal Vessel beneath my feet is the fastest — it can ride the winds and waves of the River of Time. You think your little Year Closing Tower can stop me? Hmm?!"
Suddenly, Qing Ye's expression changed. In disbelief, he saw a Time Path great formation rising up around the Eternal Vessel.
"A Time Path formation deployed this quickly?!" Qing Ye's heart shook. He finally experienced the awe-inspiring mastery of the Five Elements Grand Master.
"This Red Lotus True Inheritance is mine!" With Eternal Heaven's support, Fang Yuan had secured the most critical window of time. He successfully approached Stone Lotus Island, his next step about to land upon it.
But just then, an abrupt change occurred. Stone Lotus Island erupted with an invisible, tremendous force that flung Fang Yuan far back.
"What's going on?" Doubt rose in Fang Yuan's heart. "I possess the Spring Autumn Cicada — could it be that once Stone Lotus Island accepts me, the entire island's defenses will fail? Or that a vulnerability will appear, easily exploited by outsiders?"
Boom, boom, boom!
At that moment, a barrage of attacks rained down like a torrential downpour, engulfing Fang Yuan's colossal Primordial Year Monkey form.
The River-Stabilizing Lotus-Locking Great Formation had finally stabilized its footing. Though still damaged, the gap was rapidly shrinking, and the Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals managing the formation now had the spare capacity to deal with Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan was obstructed by the formation and could no longer approach Stone Lotus Island as easily as before.
"This formation was likely designed by Heavenly Court specifically to counter Stone Lotus Island. Could it be that the island resisted me earlier precisely because of this formation?"
As Fang Yuan contemplated, Feng Jiuge's Three Autumns Yellow Crane Platform finally charged to his position.
Between the two of them, the formation erupted once more — attacks and defenses traded back and forth, and for a time, the battle reached a stalemate.
Meanwhile.
Eastern Sea.
"Li Huang pays respects to Dragon Lord!" High in the sky, flames scattered in all directions, revealing a formidable old man — the Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal powerhouse Li Huang, reinforcement from Heavenly Court.
Dragon Lord nodded slightly and gently patted Feng Jinhuang beside him.