Moment Platform, Past-Present Pavilion, Three Autumns Yellow Crane Platform, Constant Vessel, Shark Flow Lever, Sun Moon Observatory.
Gu Liuru, Feng Jiuge, Xing Yewang, Jiuling Fairy.
Heavenly Court had invested tremendous military forces into the River of Time, determined to seize Red Lotus's true inheritance!
On Fang Yuan's side, there was only the Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship. Though it was an Eighth Transformation Gu house, it looked woefully thin against Heavenly Court's formidable lineup.
Six of Heavenly Court's Immortal Gu houses and four Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals had the Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship completely surrounded.
The ship was in a dire situation, yet Fang Yuan's voice remained unhurried — he even had the mood for banter. "Hehehe. You want to occupy Stone Lotus Island? Since I can't have it, neither will you."
Immortal killer move — Ten Thousand Year Hunt!
From the Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship, bursts of strange fragrance suddenly wafted out, rapidly spreading and stirring countless beast roars from the surrounding area.
A tide of Year Beasts was swiftly brewing.
In his previous life, Fang Yuan had allied with Bing Saichuan to contest Red Lotus's true inheritance against Heavenly Court. In the end, Feng Jiuge had intervened, directly destroying Stone Lotus Island.
This time, Fang Yuan made the same choice — using the Ten Thousand Year Hunt to unleash an endless beast tide upon Stone Lotus Island.
This method could be called the Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship's strongest ability, but its drawback was equally obvious: the Year Beast tide made no distinction between friend and foe, and in fact targeted the Battle Flying Ship itself even more.
Last time, the Heavenly Court Gu Immortals had fallen for Fang Yuan's scheme. They believed he could control the beast tide, so they slaughtered a massive number of Year Beasts to shield the ship. After suffering heavy losses, they finally realized that Fang Yuan could barely control the tide either.
Heavenly Court's Gu Immortals had already grasped the drawback of the Ten Thousand Year Hunt.
But when Fang Yuan deployed it again this time, it struck at Heavenly Court's vital weakness. They were in the middle of laying down the River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Formation, unable to dodge, forced to endure the blow head-on.
Gu Liuru snorted coldly. "This scoundrel is vicious — sure enough, he's using this trick again."
His expression remained perfectly calm as he immediately dispatched personnel. The Constant Vessel and Shark Flow Lever quickly pulled away, rushing toward the outskirts of the battlefield. At the same time, Jiuling Fairy leapt out of her Immortal Gu house and transformed into an ancient desolate beast, retreating from the battle.
Heavenly Court held the advantage, and Fang Yuan's Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship was already surrounded, so their withdrawal could not be prevented.
Once they were far from the battlefield, a brilliant halo suddenly lit up on both the Constant Vessel and the Shark Flow Lever. Two auras bearing resemblance to the Flowing Time Immortal Gu spread outward in all directions.
The freshly forming beast tide was instantly drawn toward the two Immortal Gu houses, with eighty percent breaking off to charge at them.
The remaining twenty percent were intercepted by Jiuling Fairy in her ancient desolate beast form and taken under her control.
"So it really is her!"
"Jiuling Fairy, then… an Eighth Transformation powerhouse from Central Continent's history who dual-cultivated the Slave Path and Transformation Path."
Gu Immortals aboard the Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship had already identified Jiuling Fairy's origins.
At this moment, Fang Yuan's true body was still in the Eastern Sea. Only a wisp of his will resided within the ship. His will deliberated, comparing the situation against his memories from his previous life.
In his previous life, Jiuling Fairy had not awakened, but in this life she had — and she had awakened ahead of schedule.
This was a completely different change.
Once she transformed into an ancient Year Beast, the River of Time was no longer an obstacle for her.
Though Heavenly Court had not directly countered the Ten Thousand Year Hunt, they had devised a way to handle it.
They had analyzed the underlying principle of the Ten Thousand Year Hunt and, working from that, cleverly defused the beast tide before it could fully form.
Even if more Year Beasts arrived after this, there would only be scattered ones trickling in — hardly enough to pose any threat.
This was the depth of Heavenly Court's resources.
And this was precisely why Fang Yuan had been patient, concealing his methods.
Once his abilities were exposed, Heavenly Court could quickly respond, actively deducing counters to use in the next battle.
This had been true for the Dawn Sword, for Surging Momentum, and now for the Ten Thousand Year Hunt as well.
The Ten Thousand Year Hunt — a killer move capable of turning the tide — was neutralized by Heavenly Court before it could even take effect.
The remaining four Immortal Gu houses pressed the siege on the Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship, launching relentless assaults.
"Fang Yuan, if you have any other tricks, by all means show them," Gu Liuru sneered.
Inside the Battle Flying Ship, Fang Yuan's will remained silent, offering no response.
The battle continued. The Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship was at a disadvantage, with no way to turn things around. Though it made repeated attempts to break through the encirclement, none succeeded.
On Heavenly Court's side, the four Immortal Gu houses operated in concert. Moment Platform held the frontal position — as an Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu house with Gu Liuru, a Time Path powerhouse, personally commanding it, it could fully contend with the Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship.
Meanwhile, the other three Immortal Gu houses provided active support. Their coordination with Moment Platform was not merely smooth — it was exquisitely refined.
Clearly, the Gu Immortals within these houses had not been idle during this time. They had been actively drilling, and their combat power had risen considerably as a result.
"Fang Yuan is reduced to a cornered beast's struggle. He's no longer a threat."
"We must still be cautious. Against this demon, the slightest carelessness could prove fatal."
"Our River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Formation is nearly complete. What methods could Fang Yuan possibly have left to stop us?"
Morale among the Heavenly Court faction soared.
Many already seemed to envision the scene of Fang Yuan meeting his end.
But just then, an immense aura suddenly surged from Stone Lotus Island.
A brilliant golden radiance burst forth as a gray stone giant slowly rose to its feet.
The giant was towering beyond measure, its entire body thick with bulging muscle, dense fur, and eyes that glinted with fierce, beastly light.
"What manner of monster is this? Its aura is entirely of the Time Path!"
"We haven't even properly explored Stone Lotus Island yet — have we triggered its guardians?"
"This is bad. The River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Formation isn't complete yet!"
The expressions of Heavenly Court's Gu Immortals changed drastically.
The giant let out a thunderous roar, producing the sound of a tiger's bellow and a dragon's cry. Shockwaves rippled outward in all directions, crashing against the shores and whipping the sea into violent waves.
The River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Formation shuddered violently, and the Gu Immortals laying the formation coughed up blood in droves.
"Hold the formation steady!"
"The Paper Cage Formation has been shattered by the roar — repair it quickly!"
"Team Four, Team Four Gu Immortals, reinforce immediately!"
The formation-laying Gu Immortals scrambled in a panic.
After its roar, the gray stone giant shook both arms. The muscles of its upper arms and forearms swelled like inflating balloons, suddenly expanding to three times their size.
Black, heavy horns sprouted from its forehead. It dipped its head slightly, brought both arms together before its chest, opened its palms to face each other, and countless streams of air howled and converged, forming a surging vortex of wind between its hands.
Gu Liuru's eyes flashed with a hint of horror.
He recognized it: the wind was merely an outward manifestation — in truth, it was Time Path Dao marks!
More and more Time Path Dao marks were drawn out by the giant, converging into an enormous silver sphere.
The sphere grew ever larger. The giant bellowed like an ox, then suddenly exerted its strength, whipping both arms forward and hurling the silver sphere with tremendous force.
The silver sphere shot out like a meteor, kicking up boundless waves of wind in its wake.
Every one of the Righteous Path Gu Immortals from Central Continent felt their pupils contract, stunned by the devastating power of the silver sphere.
"Quick — we must block it!" Gu Liuru gritted his teeth and, steeling himself, maneuvered Moment Platform into the path of the silver sphere's trajectory.
BOOM!
The next instant, a deafening explosion rocked the battlefield. The silver sphere smashed violently into Moment Platform. Terrifying energy erupted, sending the platform reeling as though it had plunged into a hurricane. It struggled to hold its ground but was still driven backward, again and again.
"We blocked it." Moment Platform finally came to a stop. Gu Liuru exhaled a turbid breath. The entire front face of the platform was shattered beyond recognition, covered in cracks. A vast number of mortal Gu had been destroyed, and even some Immortal Gu had been damaged.
The Gu Immortals inside Moment Platform were already in chaos, the leisurely ease of their earlier siege on Fang Yuan completely gone, as they poured all their effort into repairing the Immortal Gu house.
The aftershocks from the silver sphere's detonation sent violent waves crashing into the River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Formation, killing a huge number of Gu worms and adding to the already frantic workload of the formation-laying Gu Immortals.
Seeing his attack had failed, the gray stone giant began condensing another silver sphere.
Gu Liuru's face tightened. He gritted his teeth and drove Moment Platform to dive toward the island.
But the moment Moment Platform drew close, Stone Lotus Island blazed with golden light, and an invisible force of immense power barred its advance.
In that brief window, the gray stone giant's palms had already formed another silver sphere.
The sphere shot forth. With no other option, Gu Liuru could only clench his teeth once more and propel Moment Platform forward to intercept.
BOOM!
Another thunderous explosion. In the violent blast, Moment Platform's front was utterly ruined — large chunks of masonry and tile went flying, reverting into the shattered remains of countless Gu worms midair.
The gray stone giant saw its attack blocked again and flew into a towering rage. With a furious roar, it began forming yet another silver sphere.
Gu Liuru's brow furrowed deeply. "This giant is clearly a Time Path ability — it feels familiar! I never expected Red Lotus Demon Venerable to have left such a contingency."
"However, even knowing its origins, in the short term I can only intercept its attacks and sacrifice Moment Platform to protect the River-Sealing Lotus-Locking Formation! Fortunately, we have Moment Platform."
A small measure of relief stirred in Gu Liuru's heart.
Moment Platform's signature ability was spatial repositioning — in the span of a single moment, it could shift from one location to another.
This was not a Space Path ability, but a Time Path one. It was not true teleportation in essence; rather, it compressed the time required for Moment Platform's displacement to virtually nothing — a single instant. If the distance was greater, it took a few instants at most.
Gu Liuru was doing everything in his power to protect the formation. His objective was crystal clear. Once the formation was activated, it could isolate the interior from the exterior. At that point, Stone Lotus Island would have nowhere to run, and Red Lotus Demon Venerable's various arrangements on the island would weaken and be suppressed.
Internally, it served this purpose; externally, it provided an additional layer of powerful protection.
At that point, even if Fang Yuan wanted to get inside, the combination of the formation and several Immortal Gu houses defending together would make it exceedingly difficult.
Fang Yuan clearly understood this too. The Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship surged back and forth in desperate attempts to break free, but the remaining Immortal Gu houses, though only at the Seventh Transformation level, made for a remarkably stubborn encirclement. It was like a crude fishing net trying to snare a shark.
Heavenly Court was gradually losing ground. Seeing the situation deteriorate, Gu Liuru snorted coldly and burst from Moment Platform, personally joining the encirclement around the Ten Thousand Year Battle Flying Ship.
He was a Time Path powerhouse, perfectly at home in the River of Time. With his direct intervention, Heavenly Court once again stabilized the situation.