"Collect!" Dragon Lord suddenly materialized, hovering above the roof of Dragon Palace.
A tremendous suction force surged forth. The Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu House struggled with all its might, yet was dragged inch by inch toward Dragon Lord's empty orifice.
The other Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals witnessing this scene rushed over immediately, unleashing a barrage of killing moves at Dragon Lord simultaneously.
Dragon Lord sighed, and his figure vanished from the spot.
Dragon Palace, freed from its restraints, immediately burst from the seabed and soared back into the sky.
The Eastern Sea Eighth Transformations were about to give chase together when, without warning, Dragon Lord reappeared in midair, blocking their path.
Dragon roars erupted once more. Dragon Lord's figure flickered like lightning as he wove and darted among the numerous Eastern Sea Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals. The thunderous booms of fierce combat echoed ceaselessly like rolling thunder, and hundreds of millions of innocent lives suffered as massive waves dozens of zhang—and even over a hundred zhang tall—surged across the sea surface.
Freed from Feng Jinhuang's burden, Dragon Lord displayed astonishing combat power. Not a single Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal present could match him.
However, these Eastern Sea Gu Immortals had all cultivated to the Eighth Transformation. Each possessed deep foundations and considerable skill.
Though they could not defeat Dragon Lord and were clearly losing, they faced no immediate danger to their lives. Although they eyed each other warily, when it came to facing Dragon Lord, they cooperated enthusiastically whenever the opportunity arose.
In short order, the Eastern Sea's Righteous Path, Demonic Path, and independent cultivators had all joined forces to deal with Dragon Lord.
Dragon Lord felt the pressure mounting.
His earlier eruption that suppressed everyone had worked because he had been biding his time, holding back without making any major moves, which caught the Eastern Sea Eighth Transformations completely off guard.
As the battle dragged on, Dragon Lord's methods gradually became familiar to the Eastern Sea Gu Immortals. They all found ways to counter or respond to them properly.
In this world, there were no invincible Immortal Gu, no invincible Immortal Path killing moves—only invincible Gu Immortals.
No matter how complex or mysterious any Immortal Path killing move might be, it always left traces to follow. Every move had both advantages and weaknesses.
Dragon Lord was indeed powerful. Not a single Eastern Sea Eighth Transformation present could match him. But the current battle situation was unique. Every party was fighting for the Immortal Gu House, and none wanted to fight Dragon Lord to the death. The Immortal Gu House kept flying, shifting the battlefield all over, leaving no room for Dragon Lord to lay out a proper battlefield and pin his opponents down.
Dragon claws swept wildly, driving back the Eastern Sea Eighth Transformations. Dragon Lord crashed violently into Dragon Palace, then thrust out his great hand and grabbed.
In an instant, a pair of enormous phantom dragon claws materialized, clamping down hard on Dragon Palace.
Dragon Palace shuddered violently, shattering the phantom claws, and broke free once more.
Dragon Lord sighed. This had already happened many times. Collecting Dragon Palace was no easy task. He first had to fight for a while, temporarily drive off all competitors, and then seize a favorable opportunity to attempt the collection. But Dragon Palace itself was an Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu House of extraordinary strength, making the collection extremely difficult.
Dragon Lord had already tried many times, each ending in failure.
"Dragon Lord is too strong! What do we do?"
"Once he truly gets going, we won't have any chance to even get close to Dragon Palace, let alone collect it!"
"It's only Dragon Lord by himself, attacking again and again—thankfully this Immortal Gu House is tough enough!"
"We can't let this continue. Dragon Palace's resistance is growing weaker. Sooner or later, Dragon Lord will subdue it."
The Eastern Sea Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals, all bearing injuries, communicated closely with one another, each hoping the others would unleash their trump card killing moves against Dragon Lord.
Who among those who had cultivated to the Eighth Transformation didn't have some hidden手段 up their sleeve?
These Immortal Path killing moves were either devastatingly powerful or mystically profound, but none of them were willing to reveal theirs. No one could guarantee that in such a complex battle environment, using these Immortal Path killing moves wouldn't backfire.
The stronger the killing move, the more severe the backlash.
Dragon Lord was also holding the Three Qi Return killing move in reserve, never using it.
It wasn't that he didn't want to—it was that using this move carried enormous risk, very likely harming himself.
When he had fought Purple Mountain True Monarch earlier, he had probed every way he could at the start of the battle. Only after determining that his opponent had no specific counters did he find the right opportunity to unleash Three Qi Return.
In the current situation, if Dragon Lord rashly used Three Qi Return and it happened to be countered and neutralized by the enemy, what then?
These Eastern Sea Eighth Transformations were numerous and possessed deep foundations. Who knew what hidden手段 they truly harbored!
It was like an arrow nocked on a bowstring, suspended but not released—a source of constant anxiety. A Gu Immortal concealing their killing moves was often a formidable deterrent in itself.
River of Time.
Immortal Path Killing Move—Summer Fan!
Fang Yuan still wore the form of an ancient Year Monkey. His killing move succeeded, and he thrust both hands forward in a phantom grasp.
An enormous long-handled cattail fan materialized out of thin air, seized in his grip.
"Bing Saichuan, dodge!"
Fang Yuan twisted at the waist and core, his arm muscles bulging, and swung the fan with all his might.
Whoosh!! A hurricane sprang up, sweeping forward in a violent surge. The terrifying gale engulfed the Three Autumn Yellow Crane Terrace and even the Shark Stream Sled, binding them tightly and flinging them beyond the River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Grand Formation.
But at the critical moment, Feng Jiuge and Xing Yewang both flew out of their Immortal Gu Houses, lunging at Fang Yuan and Bing Saichuan.
Though they had not cultivated the Time Path, the River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Grand Formation had not collapsed. Inside the formation, the Time Path was actually suppressed while the other paths received enhancement.
The Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals dispatched by Heavenly Court were all elites. Over this period, through close cooperation, they had restored the River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Grand Formation to about seventy or eighty percent. Though the holes and tears remained, they had shrunk considerably.
"Five Elements Grand Master, quickly fire your Piercing Mystery Light!" Fang Yuan shouted.
From within the Year Closing Tower, the Five Elements Grand Master's voice immediately came: "I cannot unleash a second Piercing Mystery Light in such a short time. Besides, this Grand Formation has changed considerably. Using the previous Piercing Mystery Light wouldn't have nearly the same effect."
Immortal Path Killing Move—One Melody Warrior!
Feng Jiuge's body swayed, and from it stepped four One Melody Warriors, converging on Fang Yuan from all sides.
Xing Yewang radiated starlight from every pore, bristling like a hedgehog, and charged at Bing Saichuan.
Bing Saichuan and Fang Yuan exchanged a glance. Then the two soared skyward, abandoning their respective opponents, and bombarded the River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Grand Formation.