The ambush battle at Stone Lotus Island, orchestrated by Fang Yuan, had already concluded.
Brilliant radiance still filled Heavenly Court, but within the Grand Hall, the atmosphere was heavy and somber.
"At the critical moment, Immortal Friend Gu Liuru sacrificed himself to intercept the Ten Thousand Year Flying Dragon Chariot, allowing us to barely escape with our lives." Fairy Nine Spirits spoke these words, then coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Tears rimmed her eyes as the image of Gu Liuru hurling himself forward to shield them surfaced once more before her mind's eye.
Fairy Nine Spirits had always been fair and elegant in appearance, fond of wearing grand robes with flowing sleeves that billowed with imposing momentum. Now, however, she was drenched in blood, covered in wounds, her tattered robes hanging in limp ruins. Her frail body, wrapped in those tattered garments, projected a vulnerability that had never been seen before.
In this grand battle within the River of Time, Heavenly Court had held an absolute advantage in the early stages, but ultimately suffered a catastrophic defeat. All six Immortal Gu Houses were destroyed, and only two Gu Immortals — Fairy Nine Spirits and Feng Jiuge — had managed to escape.
Feng Jiuge was also present in the hall. Gone was his usual elegance and composure; his eyes had dimmed, no longer bright, reflecting a lost and bewildered emotion.
Fairy Zi Wei sighed and instructed the two of them to go rest and recuperate.
She had already learned the full extent of the battle's circumstances. Summoning Fairy Nine Spirits for detailed questioning was merely to extract more specifics and clues.
"I never expected Stone Lotus Island had already fallen into Fang Yuan's hands. How did he manage it? We detected not the slightest disturbance." Fairy Zi Wei silently pondered, but still could not find any thread to follow.
It was precisely this single oversight that led to Heavenly Court's devastating defeat in this battle. Everything had been within Fang Yuan's calculations — the loss was far too severe.
Lord Dragon smiled bitterly: "In truth, we had previously speculated that Fang Yuan had obtained Red Lotus's True Inheritance. But in the last battle, the Ten Thousand Year Flying Dragon Chariot was chased into a corner by our forces, darting about desperately, and even the dangers of the River of Time proved futile. Now it seems that battle was likely a deliberate ploy by Fang Yuan — firstly to draw our attention away so he could seize the Dragon Palace, and secondly to lay the groundwork for this battle, showing weakness to the enemy. What a cunning and treacherous demonic villain!"
"Then, when exactly did Fang Yuan obtain Red Lotus's True Inheritance? If he only recently acquired it, that would be one thing. But if he had set foot on Stone Lotus Island long ago — that would be truly terrifying." As Fairy Zi Wei thought this, a chill crept through her entire body.
Heavenly Court's current situation was exceedingly dire.
Yet no matter how dire the predicament, Heavenly Court had to face it head-on, with no room for evasion.
Lord Dragon spoke in a deep voice: "Even if Fang Yuan has obtained one of Red Lotus's True Inheritances and mastered the Twelve Zodiac Ancient Battle Formations within, we must continue to invest our strength into the River of Time!"
This was without question.
Red Lotus's True Inheritances numbered more than one. If Fang Yuan were to obtain a second or third, that would be even more terrifying.
For Heavenly Court, the River of Time was a place that had to be defended, and Red Lotus's True Inheritances were things that had to be seized. Perhaps this pressure would only ease once the Fate Gu was successfully repaired. But for now, Heavenly Court had to start over — six Immortal Gu Houses had been destroyed, so they would build six more, or even ten!
Fairy Zi Wei nodded slowly, her expression grave. On this point, she and Lord Dragon were in complete agreement.
"There is, however..." A look of difficulty appeared in Fairy Zi Wei's eyes.
There lay a fundamental obstacle.
To continue investing Time Path power into the River of Time, the most direct approach was to deploy Time Path Gu Immortals.
But because of Red Lotus Demon Venerable, Heavenly Court's accumulation of Time Path Gu Immortals was extremely thin.
Without powerful Time Path experts, they had to compensate with Time Path Immortal Gu Houses.
Heavenly Court had just lost six Time Path Immortal Gu Houses in one stroke — an enormous loss. To rebuild them required vast quantities of Time Path immortal Gu.
Though Fairy Nine Spirits and Feng Jiuge had survived, they had brought back virtually no immortal Gu.
Heavenly Court would need to refine a large number of Time Path immortal Gu in order to construct the Immortal Gu Houses.
The immortal materials for Gu refinement were not a problem at all.
Heavenly Court's foundation was as vast as the ocean, accumulated over millions of years — not mere empty words. Heavenly Court possessed three Great Million Vaults, named "Early," "Middle," and "Late." These three vaults corresponded to one-million-year spans, and everything Heavenly Court had accumulated during each period was stored in its respective vault.
Any single Million Vault contained far more than the combined treasuries of the current Ten Great Ancient Sects.
Ancestor Snow Hu had gone bankrupt trying to refine a single Eighth Transformation Fortune-Flowing Heaven Gu. Even Fang Yuan, with his current resources, would not dare casually attempt to refine an Eighth Transformation immortal Gu. For an ordinary supreme faction, refining an Eighth Transformation Gu could cripple them. But for Heavenly Court, refining even ten such Gu would not damage their foundation in the slightest.
Heavenly Court was never lacking in immortal materials — what they lacked were masters of the Refinement Path.
Yuan Qiongdu was already a powerhouse of the Refinement Path, continuously responsible for the repair of Fate Gu. Asking him to also rush to refine replacement Time Path Immortal Gu Houses would be far too much to impose.
After all, he was only one person, and his energy was limited.
"If only one or two Refinement Path powerhouses emerged from the Immortal Tomb, that would solve everything." Fairy Zi Wei thought to herself with regret. Unfortunately, the Immortal Tomb could not be manipulated by outsiders — she could not simply awaken whichever Gu Immortal she wished.
Lord Dragon also recognized this problem. After a moment of thought, he said: "Then we should rally the Refinement Path Gu Immortals from the Ten Great Ancient Sects and even from other sects, place them under unified management, incorporate them into Heavenly Court, and have them work together to refine Time Path immortal Gu."
Fairy Zi Wei nodded. Yuan Qiongdu already bore heavy responsibilities and should continue overseeing the repair of Fate Gu. If the Immortal Tomb showed no signs of activity, Heavenly Court had no choice but to take this approach to resolve the immediate crisis.
Fairy Zi Wei sighed inwardly: "If only we had succeeded in invading the Lang Ya Sect and brought the entire sect under our control. The current problems would not even be problems. But instead, the Lang Ya Sect ended up in Fang Yuan's hands."
Heavenly Court had lost the initiative from the very first step, and from there had been constrained at every turn. Meanwhile, Fang Yuan had repeatedly leveraged his advantage in the Refinement Path to show Heavenly Court its place. Yuan Qiongdu was perhaps the one who felt this most acutely.
Fairy Zi Wei and Lord Dragon both carried heavy hearts.
Fang Yuan's victory in the River of Time was a truly devastating blow to Heavenly Court.
But the River of Time was only one front — Heavenly Court's situation was deteriorating across the board.
In the Northern Plains, Eternal Youth had been steadily exerting its influence, consolidating the power of the Northern Plains Gu Immortal world.
In the Western Desert, Fang Dichang had refined the Bean God Palace and was leading the Fang Clan's rise to prominence.
In the Southern Border, though Wu Yong was close to Heavenly Court, the beacon towers being erected everywhere had already become a thorn in Heavenly Court's side.
And as for the Eastern Sea...
"According to the latest intelligence, Ancestor Qi Sea defeated Zhang Yin in a single move. Zhang Yin is a long-established Eighth Transformation rogue Gu Immortal of the Eastern Sea, yet he couldn't even fight back. Ancestor Qi Sea's combat strength is absolutely earth-shattering. After this battle, his prestige has surged enormously, attracting a great number of Eastern Sea Gu Immortals to attend his banquets." Fairy Zi Wei's expression was full of worry.
Lord Dragon nodded: "Even I would find it difficult to accomplish such a feat. Ancestor Qi Sea seems to have grown even more powerful. By his own public account, his combat strength improved because he comprehended the Primordial True Inheritance."
After defeating Zhang Yin, Ancestor Qi Sea had spoken candidly to the Gu Immortals of the Eastern Sea, telling the world: his combat strength had recently made another breakthrough, and the reason was the Primordial Qi Path True Inheritance he had obtained from Heavenly Court.
Lord Dragon continued: "Since Ancestor Qi Sea has said this openly, it shows he is inclined toward Heavenly Court, yet his stance remains officially neutral. He is someone we can win over."