Heavenly Court.
Boundless light, layer upon layer of immortal palaces.
Behind the Central Palace stood a towering pagoda, its entire body cloaked in a halo of white-gold radiance.
It was none other than the Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu House — the Tower of Heavenly Surveillance.
Surrounding the Tower of Heavenly Surveillance, several Heavenly Court Gu Immortals worked in coordination, laboring with tense urgency.
Under their efforts, a great Refinement Path formation was gradually taking shape.
A tall, imposing Gu Immortal stood outside the formation, observing. Though he simply stood there, he gave the impression of a colossal pillar holding up the sky.
It was Lord Dragon!
"Greetings, Lord Dragon." Fairy Zi Wei arrived at this moment, stepping into place behind him.
"Now that the Langya Blessed Land has fallen into Fang Yuan's hands, it means he has grasped the mysteries of the Refinement Furnace as well. The original Heavenly Court Refinement Path formation was modeled on the Refinement Furnace. I ordered the old formation dismantled and a new one laid down instead." Lord Dragon spoke, then slowly turned to face Fairy Zi Wei.
A flash of shame crossed Fairy Zi Wei's face. "It was my failing as a leader—"
Before she could finish, Lord Dragon raised a hand to cut her off. "There is no use in endless self-reproach. I believe you have reflected enough. The past is already set in stone — we should face the present and plan for the future."
Lord Dragon gazed at Fairy Zi Wei and sighed. "Our Heavenly Court still holds the advantage, yet the situation seems to be slipping from our grasp. This Fang Yuan... he is a chess piece arranged by Red Lotus Demon Venerable. In the previous engagement, he repelled our offensive and caused the deaths of Chen Yi and Thunder Ghost True Monarch. Now he has captured all the Southern Border Gu Immortals. Regardless of whether he is only at the Seventh Transformation, and regardless of what means he used — the result is the result, the facts are the facts. Zi Wei, how will you respond?"
In the previous life, Fang Yuan had not warranted Lord Dragon's attention — he was dismissed as a mere clown.
Now, with his string of devastating victories and terrifying battle record, Lord Dragon had grown wary.
He no longer trusted Fairy Zi Wei as unconditionally as in the previous life. Instead, he had begun to harbor doubts and took the initiative to personally inquire into relevant matters.
Fairy Zi Wei drew a breath. Her plans for dealing with Fang Yuan had long been settled, and she answered composedly: "To deal with Fang Yuan, the first priority is locating him. This cannot be done through Wisdom Path methods alone. I have already secretly arranged for three Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals to operate in the Southern Border, actively searching for clues to Fang Yuan's whereabouts."
"The second priority is countering his Fixed Immortal Travel killer move. This move poses a greater threat than the ancient Four-Path Interconnection battle formation — it gives Fang Yuan the initiative, letting him advance and retreat at will."
"I have already issued orders to be prepared to forcibly refine a Fixed Space Gu at any moment."
The Fixed Space Gu was in the possession of Gu Immortal Liu Hao, who had since been captured by Fang Yuan. But Fairy Zi Wei was confident: with Heavenly Court's means, they could still force the Immortal Gu in Liu Hao's possession to self-destruct.
With the key Fixed Space Gu secured, they would have the means to counter the Fixed Immortal Travel killer move.
"And the third priority." Fairy Zi Wei paused, her tone turning heavier. "Is guarding against Fang Yuan's Spring Autumn Cicada."
"I am increasingly suspecting that Fang Yuan has already used the Spring Autumn Cicada to undergo a rebirth."
"The battle at the Langya Blessed Land — our defeat was mainly due to the Star Projection killer move being deciphered."
"This is deeply suspicious. Feng Jiuge left behind so many Dao Marks, scattered across all manner of locations — how was Fang Yuan so certain about that one spot? He preemptively laid down a formation to intercept and bottle up our forces?"
"Yet despite multiple attempts at calculation, I have found nothing. There are simply too few clues."
Fairy Zi Wei let out a deep sigh.
"The Spring Autumn Cicada is indeed a headache." Lord Dragon nodded. "Do you have a countermeasure?"
Fairy Zi Wei nodded. "Lord Dragon, had we not previously discussed using the Treat Equally killer move against the Spring Autumn Cicada? The problem is that the Benevolence Gu is under the control of Lu Weiyin, the current Earthly Blessed inheritor, in the Southern Border Immortal World."
"Correct." Lord Dragon's voice was grave. "If Fang Yuan uses the Spring Autumn Cicada again, he will likely employ not just the Gu alone, but a killer move built around it. Using the Treat Equally killer move to counter any potential Spring Autumn Cicada-related killer move would be the safest approach."
"Exactly." A purple gleam flashed in Fairy Zi Wei's eyes. "Therefore, I plan to contact Lu Weiyin soon to discuss borrowing the Benevolence Gu."
In the previous life at this same point in time, Heavenly Court had been calm and unhurried — far from needing to reach out to Lu Weiyin.
But in this life, due to the Ink Effect, Heavenly Court had begun contacting Lu Weiyin ahead of schedule.
"Oh?" Lord Dragon responded with understanding. "You intend to use this as a chance to probe whether Fang Yuan has been reborn?"
"Yes. If Lu Weiyin refuses us, the likelihood of Fang Yuan's rebirth increases — because without the Treat Equally killer move, we have no way to counter him."
"But if Lu Weiyin agrees, it proves we possess the Treat Equally means, and the probability of Fang Yuan's rebirth would decrease."
"At the same time, we can gauge the attitude of Lu Weiyin, the current Earthly Blessed inheritor." Fairy Zi Wei spoke unhurriedly.
At the mention of the name Earthly Blessed, a complicated expression surfaced on Lord Dragon's face. "So be it."
"However, even if Lu Weiyin does not lend it and we lack the means to deal with the Spring Autumn Cicada, there is no need for excessive worry."
"As long as we hold the overall advantage and advance steadily, no matter how wildly that scoundrel Fang Yuan jumps around, he cannot turn the tide."
"Back in the day, even with Red Lotus's strength and foundation, in the end he could do nothing and met with defeat — let alone this one."
Lord Dragon laughed at that, composed and magnanimous.
Fairy Zi Wei hesitated briefly, then asked: "Lord Dragon, there is something I do not quite understand. Our Heavenly Court possesses such deep reserves — why must we borrow an outsider's Immortal Gu to deal with the Spring Autumn Cicada? Surely our great Heavenly Court cannot truly lack any means to counter it?"
The smile drained from Lord Dragon's face. "The main reason is likely Red Lotus himself. In the past, I fought a great battle with him and heard him speak with his own mouth. He said that within the River of Time, he had arranged several Stone Lotus Islands — islands with no direct connection to each other, yet mysteriously influencing one another. Together, all the Stone Lotus Islands formed a single Immortal Path killer move, his most prized technique. This technique could influence the flow of the River of Time, and through that, indirectly affect the trajectories of all things under heaven."
Without the River of Time, the entire world would be frozen in stillness.
With the River of Time flowing, all things in heaven and earth could move.
Through this connection, Red Lotus Demon Venerable had deployed some grand design whose influence extended all the way to the present.
The most tangible result was that any Gu or method capable of countering the Spring Autumn Cicada found itself severed from Heavenly Court.
After Red Lotus's deed, Heavenly Court on one hand concealed the truth to preserve its authority, while on the other actively searched and schemed, seeking to find a way to counter the Spring Autumn Cicada.