The moment the Destiny Gu was destroyed by Fang Yuan, the entire battlefield instantly returned to its original state.
The white light formed by the Destined Defeat killing move dissipated completely.
Crack, crack, crack.
A continuous string of crisp sounds echoed as countless cracks rapidly spread across the entire Monitoring Heaven Tower. Then, with a loud boom, the entire tower shattered!
The vast Heavenly Court fell into absolute silence.
There was not a wale of wind on the battlefield, but in every immortal's heart, a hurricane howled!
The Monitoring Heaven Tower crumbled into countless fragments of all sizes, falling helplessly alongside the corpses of Gu Immortals. Yuan Lian Immortal Venerable's hidden Paint Dao methods transformed into a streak of light that sliced across the horizon, shooting off into the distance.
Fang Yuan paid it no mind. He hovered silently in midair, turning to face Dragon Duke, Feng Jiuge, and the others.
His expression was blank, not a single word leaving his lips. He simply opened his palm slowly, allowing all the immortals and the entire Five Regions — watched through the All-Encompassing Eyes killing move — to see it: the completely destroyed fragments of the Destiny Gu.
"The Destiny Gu… is destroyed?"
"We… won?!"
The Three Region Gu Immortals exchanged glances, each seeing the shock and confusion on the other's face.
"Unbelievable — we actually did it!"
"This battle will absolutely be remembered by all who come after us."
Once the realization sank in, the Three Region Gu Immortals erupted into wild jubilation, shouting and roaring in triumph!
In contrast, the remaining Heavenly Court immortals all wore ashen expressions, each one looking like a lifeless puppet.
The Destiny Gu had been Heavenly Court's banner, the pillar of its spirit.
Its significance extended far beyond that of a single Ninth Transformation Gu. Since the time of Ancestral Origin Immortal Venerable, this Gu had been used to demonstrate humanity's standing, granting the people of that era hope for freedom and the courage to resist.
After more than three million years of inheritance and development, the Destiny Gu held even greater meaning for Heavenly Court. It was their foundation, their symbol, and above all, a banner that flew eternally.
But now, that very banner had been violently torn apart and ripped to shreds by Fang Yuan!
The Heavenly Court immortals watched this scene as though the pillar of their hearts had been ripped away — in that instant, the sky itself seemed to collapse!
Without any external provocation from the Three Region Gu Immortals, they had nothing to jolt them into action. Each one stood in a daze, lost and helpless, not knowing what to do.
Even Feng Jiuge fell silent, the Song of Destiny that had resonated across the entire battlefield finally falling still at this moment.
In the distance, Feng Jinhuang — hidden within a concealed underground Immortal Gu House — wept uncontrollably: "The Destiny Gu… is destroyed! How could this happen? Everyone tried so hard, so many sacrificed themselves!"
Qin Dingling stared blankly, completely dazed, like a stone statue devoid of all life.
The battered and broken Demon Slaying Ranking rose slowly into the air. Inside the Gu House, Fang Zheng gazed up at Fang Yuan, his expression a tangled mess of emotions: "Fang Yuan, you actually did it. In Heavenly Court, surrounded by the pursuit and interception of Venerable-level methods, you destroyed the Destiny Gu! The gap between you and me is still this vast."
This gap filled Fang Zheng with despair, yet strangely, he did not feel pain in this moment. Instead, there was a trace of relief.
It was time to give up.
Someone like Fang Yuan should have been extraordinary from the very beginning. His own desire to rival Fang Yuan had been nothing but a pipe dream — a foolish fantasy from start to finish.
"Hateful… unforgivable…"
"Failed. The Destiny Gu is destroyed."
Many among the Heavenly Court immortals had tears streaming down their faces. They had given everything they had, pouring out all their effort. Some had crawled from their graves to fight once more; others had held their ground to the very end. But in the end, they had still failed.
"How can I face our fallen comrades?!"
"How can I show my face to the predecessors of our sect?!"
Shame washed over the faces of the Heavenly Court immortals, and many of them felt a sudden urge to take their own lives on the spot.
"Don't panic — any of you!" It was at that moment that Dragon Duke spoke, his voice booming across a thousand li, sending a tremor through every immortal's heart.
Dragon Duke ascended to the highest point of the sky, his expression grave. He knew this was a critical moment.
The Destiny Gu was destroyed. Dragon Duke could not afford to wallow in regret or self-blame — he was the leader of Heavenly Court, and he needed to do everything in his power to resolve this crisis!
What filled him with the deepest anxiety was that even the battle-hardened Gu Immortals of Heavenly Court were this shaken. Then what would the rest of the world — everyone who had witnessed this scene — think?
If Fang Yuan's repeated schemes against Heavenly Court before this had been resounding slaps to its face, then now, with the destruction of the Destiny Gu, he had shaken the very foundation of Heavenly Court, demolishing over three million years of accumulated status and reputation!
Dragon Duke had to rally the troops and restore their morale.
"Fang Yuan, do you really think you've destroyed the Destiny Gu?" Dragon Duke suddenly burst into hearty laughter, not a trace of wavering or despair visible on his face.
Fang Yuan did not respond. He merely gazed at him quietly, lifting his palm ever so slightly.
Immediately, a mocking voice rang out from among the Three Region Gu Immortals: "Dragon Duke, are you blind? Can't you see the remains of the Destiny Gu?"
Among the Heavenly Court immortals, some eyes flickered with a spark of hope: "Could it be that the Destiny Gu Fang Yuan destroyed was fake?"
But Dragon Duke shook his head, still smiling: "Hehehe — the Destiny Gu that was destroyed is certainly real. But Fang Yuan, even if the Destiny Gu has been destroyed, does that mean it is gone forever, never to be refined again by us?"
"Hmm?" All the immortals were stunned.
The uniqueness of Immortal Gu was one of the fundamental truths of heaven and earth — an unshakeable principle. If I possess one Immortal Gu, no one else can possess the same one.
But once that Immortal Gu is destroyed, everyone in the world gains the opportunity to possess it.
The Destiny Gu had indeed been destroyed by Fang Yuan — this was an ironclad fact. But this was not the true end, because Heavenly Court could simply refine it again!
"Does Heavenly Court already possess the recipe for the Destiny Gu?" Shen Congsheng asked with a dark expression.
"The Destiny Gu has been under Heavenly Court's control for over three million years, passing through the hands of countless refining masters and three generations of Immortal Venerables. Take a guess — do you think we've mastered the Destiny Gu's recipe?" Dragon Duke smiled, an air of confidence and composure radiating from every inch of his being.
"Damn it!" Several Three Region Gu Immortals immediately seethed with fury.
Dragon Duke laughed again: "However, even if Heavenly Court does not have the Immortal Gu recipe for the Destiny Gu, so what? Allow me to ask you all — was the Destiny Gu of the Primordial Era refined by Human Ancestor?"
"Of course not." Qin Dingling answered, understanding what Dragon Duke meant. The light of life returned to her eyes: "The Destiny Gu was born naturally from heaven and earth!"
Dragon Duke nodded: "Correct. Immortal Gu are naturally born, which is why there are so many wild Immortal Gu. Even if we don't refine it, heaven and earth will produce the Destiny Gu on their own. The newly born Destiny Gu could be Sixth Transformation, or it could come into existence as Ninth Transformation directly. Who can say for certain?"
Now it was the Three Region Gu Immortals' turn to exchange uneasy glances.
After Dragon Duke's explanation, they suddenly realized that perhaps destroying the Destiny Gu was not such a great matter after all!
So what if the Destiny Gu was destroyed? It could be refined again in the future!
"Even if it's refined again, we can destroy it once more!" a Gu Immortal shouted indignantly, though even he lacked conviction.
How much effort had it taken to destroy the Destiny Gu this time! Could such a success truly be replicated? Setting everything else aside, the fact that only a Demon from Beyond the Heavens could destroy the Destiny Gu alone had already cut down countless heroes and ambitious figures. Hadn't all three Demon Venerables failed to do it?
"Damn it — how did none of us think of this?" a Gu Immortal muttered in extreme frustration. But thinking more carefully, it wasn't really his fault for not considering it.
After all, the goal of ascending to Heavenly Court and then destroying the Destiny Gu was already towering like the heavens themselves, requiring the Gu Immortals to crane their necks just to hope for it. Achieving this single objective had already pushed the Gu Immortals to the absolute limits of their ability — much like mortals trying to climb to the sky. It had been a goal that seemed entirely impossible to accomplish, one that could not be reached even with every last ounce of strength and will.
Under such circumstances, who could have thought about what came after reaching the sky?
In truth, when the Central Continent had hosted the Gu Refinement Conference and the immortals of all four regions had launched their assault, who could have truly been certain that the Destiny Gu could be destroyed?
No one!
Not even Fang Yuan — nor even the past Venerables who had orchestrated the plan — had possessed that confidence.
Everyone had simply been trying.
After the attempt succeeded, the Gu Immortals had been wild with joy. But what came after achieving this goal?
Dragon Duke's words were, in truth, factual. The Three Region Gu Immortals suddenly realized that it seemed all their sacrifice, all their desperate fighting, all their effort — might it all amount to nothing? Might it all dissolve into mere foam so easily?
The Three Region Gu Immortals fell silent, their expressions growing increasingly grim.
Wu Yong keenly sensed the shift in morale and the plummeting spirit of the troops, and immediately countered with a cold voice: "Lord Dragon Duke certainly has a silver tongue. But Heavenly Court's defeat remains a defeat. You went to extraordinary lengths, setting up layer upon layer of defenses, yet even when you hid the Destiny Gu in the heart of Heavenly Court, we still managed to destroy it. Even if you obtain the Destiny Gu again in the future — what of it?"