"A bit troublesome. I'll need to calculate for a moment. Everyone, rest for now," Fang Yuan said.
The Territory Gu checkpoint had not only stumped Fang Yuan — it had stumped every other Gu Immortal as well. No matter how they drove the auxiliary formations, the formations' power could no longer seep through.
The Gu Immortals began to rest, but did not forget to exchange remarks.
"We've finally hit a real obstacle."
"I thought Chu Ying could just keep refining all the way through."
"You're joking. This is a grand formation personally laid down by Recluse Immortal Venerable. What right does Chu Ying have to refine something of that caliber?"
"But if he can't refine it, what happens to our mission?"
"Exactly. Chu Ying may be a grandmaster of Formation path, but calculation is really a Wisdom path matter. What can he possibly figure out?"
The Gu Immortals' feelings were complicated.
On one hand, Fang Yuan hitting a wall genuinely put them at ease.
On the other hand, if Fang Yuan was stymied, their own interests would suffer as well.
They wanted Fang Yuan to push past this obstacle, yet deep down, they were unwilling to see it happen.
"Alright, I've got it. Let's continue," Fang Yuan suddenly announced.
"Huh?" The immortals were stunned — that was absurdly fast.
Fang Yuan flew out of the auxiliary formation and hovered high above. "To cross this checkpoint, the auxiliary formations will need some adjustments. Please don't act just yet."
Immediately after, his mind raced, and Immortal Essence was consumed at a rapid clip. The auxiliary formations shifted positions in accordance with his will. Some retreated further back, while others advanced from the rear, drawing closer to the grand formation beneath the sea.
In the end, Miao Mingshen's auxiliary formation and Ren Xiuping's auxiliary formation pressed tightly together, interlocking into a single unit.
Fang Yuan addressed the two of them: "From here on, the two of your formations will take the lead, with everyone else providing support."
Both Miao Mingshen and Ren Xiuping nodded, their expressions conflicted. They had never imagined a day would come when they would be forced to cooperate.
With the adjustments complete, Fang Yuan descended back into his own auxiliary formation. Rather than immediately activating the Formation Refinement Rain, he directed the immortals within the auxiliary formations, guiding them to activate the formations in a specific sequence and pattern according to his steps.
The auxiliary formations' power shifted. Like layer upon layer of fine sand, it lodged into the gaps of the grand formation beneath the sea, slowing its operation ever so slightly.
And it was that sliver of change that gave Fang Yuan the opening he needed.
Fang Yuan resumed driving the Formation Refinement Rain. Moments later, he successfully refined the Territory Gu!
With this checkpoint crossed, the immortals all felt a wave of relief. The auxiliary formations' power surged forth like a torrent, rampaging through the grand formation beneath the sea. They penetrated fully sixty percent of the grand formation before finally hitting an impassable wall and grinding to a halt.
A storm of shock crashed through Shen Congsheng and the others.
"Terrifying!"
"Who knew Chu Ying was this capable!"
"Over half of the underwater grand formation is about to fall into his hands!"
"The auxiliary formations he designed are remarkably intricate — they can actually be reconfigured. This isn't a static formation at all; it's an adaptive one!"
Fang Yuan's performance shattered their highest expectations, leaving them dumbfounded once more.
Three days and two nights later, several more Earth path Immortal Gu and a staggering quantity of mortal Gu had been successfully refined by Fang Yuan. At this point, sixty percent of the grand formation was firmly under his control.
"But the remaining forty percent is the core of the underwater grand formation. With just the auxiliary formations and my own abilities alone, there's no way I can crack it in a short time." Fang Yuan was well aware of his limits. Reaching this point was already the absolute ceiling of his current capability.
After all, this Earth path grand formation had been personally constructed by Recluse — and Recluse Immortal Venerable's mastery of Earth Path was that of a Supreme Grandmaster!
Fang Yuan attempted to commandeer the sixty percent he had refined, using it to disrupt the remaining forty percent of the core.
He was turning the grand formation against itself!
Pfft.
A moment later, Fang Yuan suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His soul shuddered violently, and his face drained of color in an instant. Several auxiliary formations — his own included — collapsed on the spot. The Gu Immortals within plunged into the water, crying out in alarm as they suffered backlash of varying severity.
Fang Yuan's gambit had failed. Even though he had refined sixty percent of the grand formation, it proved utterly useless against the remaining core!
"As expected of Recluse Immortal Venerable's handiwork. Even after more than half has been refined, the core remains completely unmoved." A tremor ran through Fang Yuan's heart.
He sighed inwardly, then raised his voice: "Fellow immortals, my deepest apologies. I failed to perceive the true depths of this formation, and have brought injury upon all of you."
The wounded Gu Immortals shook their heads, indicating it was nothing.
In their eyes, the fact that Chu Ying had achieved this much was already extraordinary — far beyond anything they had dared to hope for.
Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, turning the matter over in his mind. It seems the only option left is to dismantle the formation.
After a brief period of recovery, he set to work dismantling it.
Since the outer sixty percent of the grand formation had already been refined by him, the dismantling proceeded with remarkable ease.
This was not a standard disassembly procedure, however — Fang Yuan was tearing apart only the sixty percent he controlled, and as a result, Gu Insects were periodically destroyed as sections of the formation collapsed. The Immortal Gu among them, however, he protected meticulously, securing every last one into his possession. As for the mortal Gu, their numbers were so vast that losing a small portion was hardly worth lamenting.
Miao Mingshen, Ren Xiuping, and the others watched with unblinking eyes!
Previously, while operating the auxiliary formations, they had been unable to perceive the inner workings of the grand formation in detail — only a vague, hazy sense of it at best.
Now, with Fang Yuan dismantling the formation right before their very eyes, every Gu Insect he obtained was laid bare for all to see.
"So many Gu Insects!"
"I spotted a great number of lost Earth path mortal Gu — ones that Recluse created during his time as a Gu Master!"
"And Immortal Gu — heavens, there are eight of them!"
"Most of those Immortal Gu are Seventh Transformation, with barely any Sixth Transformation among them!"
"And Chu Ying has taken every last one of them!!"