Imperial Monarch City battlefield.
After a grueling session of mobile combat, Fang Yuan gradually began to discern certain patterns.
The "Outstanding Among Men" killing move was so powerful it bordered on heaven-defying, but it was not without its costs.
The white halos surrounding Li Huang and Qing Ye were constantly being rapidly depleted, draining at an astonishing rate.
However, at the same time, those white halos were continually being replenished.
The white lights in the sky, countless as the sands of the Ganges, seemed almost infinite, ceaselessly converging upon Li Huang, Qing Ye, and the others.
Fang Yuan made multiple attempts to break through, all to no avail.
"The flaw in this Human Path killing move is actually quite obvious." Countless thoughts whirled through Fang Yuan's mind, racing like a violent storm.
"As long as I eliminate the white motes of light scattered throughout the sky, that will suffice."
"Without those motes to supplement them, Li Huang, Qing Ye, and the rest are merely a river without a source. A slight delay in combat and their buff effects will vanish entirely."
"But I have no means to deal with those white motes of light!"
Fang Yuan had tried many times, but unfortunately, he possessed no method that could effectively counter these white motes.
This was the domain of the Human Path.
The Human Path had always existed. In fact, due to the "Record of Human Ancestor," it was very likely the first cultivation path that humanity had ever developed. Yet truly mastering the Human Path was exceedingly rare among Gu Immortals. Throughout all of history, only those with jaw-dropping, transcendent talent had managed to gain even a partial understanding.
Such insights were always fragmentary, lacking any systematic framework. At most, one might develop a small set of killing moves. For example, Red Lotus Demon Venerable's "Predecessors in Ages Past, Successors in Generations to Come," or Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's "Fulfilling the Hopes of All" and "Outstanding Among Men."
Fang Yuan had no such methods at his disposal, and the Western Desert Gu Immortals he contacted had none either.
Looking back at this Central Continent Gu Refinement Convention, Fang Yuan's disadvantage lay precisely in the Human Path.
If it were any other path, Fang Yuan could still hold his own given his tremendous foundation. But the Human Path was something he was entirely unfamiliar with.
It was not just him — the vast majority of Gu Immortals were equally ignorant of it.
Therefore, once Human Path methods were deployed, they often yielded remarkable results.
For instance, Longevity Heaven unleashing "Predecessors in Ages Past, Successors in Generations to Come," or the Heavenly Court side activating "Outstanding Among Men" as they were doing now.
"It seems I need to study the 'Record of Human Ancestor' more deeply and grasp the mysteries of the Human Path contained within. Without Human Path methods, dealing with the Heavenly Court puts me at far too great a disadvantage."
"In the future war across the Five Regions, every major power will likely possess some Human Path methods, to varying degrees."
"My foundation in this area is truly lacking."
Fang Yuan recognized this clearly.
Fang Yuan's combat strength was already extraordinarily formidable. There were many factors behind this — primarily, he had always exhausted every possible means to bolster his fighting power. In terms of raw combat prowess alone, he stood at the very pinnacle of the current Gu Immortal world.
As for resources, Fang Yuan relied on a combination of cunning acquisition and forced seizure, along with the conveniences of his Supreme Immortal Gu aperture, to achieve self-sufficiency. He was able to feed a vast number of Immortal Gu and even run numerous profitable ventures. He simply did not yet have the financial means to refine an Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu — that required time to accumulate.
But Fang Yuan's shortcomings remained, and there were many of them.
He possessed a quasi-supreme realm in the Refinement Path and the Time Path, was a Grandmaster in the Theft Path, and was quite proficient in the Blood Path, Strength Path, Transformation Path, Wisdom Path, and Star Path. However, in the Poison Path, Dream Path, Space Path, Sword Path, and numerous others, he was noticeably deficient — these were all his weak points.
The Human Path was especially so.
With the help of "Outstanding Among Men," Li Huang, Qing Ye, and the others pressed Fang Yuan into a disadvantageous position.
Unwilling to concede, Fang Yuan had no choice but to switch from offense to defense.
The numerous Immortal Gu houses of the Heavenly Court transitioned to an offensive stance, completely surrounding the Western Desert immortals and the Immortal Gu houses controlled by Bai Ningbing and the others.
The combat power of the Heavenly Court's Immortal Gu houses surged dramatically, and they did not fear these enemy Immortal Gu houses attempting to break through the encirclement.
Hidden Dragon Cave battlefield.
"Soon now." Song Qiyuan's eyes burned with fervor as he fixed his gaze intently upon the Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu house before him — the Dragon Palace — continuously refining it.
Alongside him were other Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals from the Eastern Sea — Qing Yue'an, Hua Caiyun, Shen Congsheng, Zhang Yin, Rong Po, Shi Miao, and Yang Zihe.
These Gu Immortals were working in concert, combining their efforts to refine the Dragon Palace and seize it for their own use.
Although the Dragon Palace had already been refined by Dragon Lord, at present no one was commanding it, and a portion of its power was occupied suppressing Di Zangsheng. As such, it was unable to resist the combined refinement efforts of these Eighth Transformation Eastern Sea immortals.
Time passed, and the Dragon Palace was gradually, step by step, being refined by the Eastern Sea immortals.
As success drew closer, the Eastern Sea immortals grew ever more vigilant.
"Everyone, be careful! The greatest fear in all things is to fall short at the last moment!"
"Indeed. I have a feeling of unease in my heart, though I cannot say why."
"You're right. We've launched a forceful assault here, and the Heavenly Court hasn't sent a single reinforcement."
"Don't worry. Right now, the Heavenly Court is likely struggling just to keep itself together and can only adopt a sacrifice-the-pawn-to-save-the-king strategy. They've probably abandoned this place entirely."
"Old Slave Beifeng — go, guard the cave entrance. If anyone suspicious appears, kill them on the spot. If the Heavenly Court sends reinforcements, you are to fight to the death without retreating!" Shen Congsheng commanded. He had already succeeded in enslaving Old Man Beifeng.