Central Continent, an ordinary, unnamed mountain peak.
Four Gu Immortals concealed their presence and secretly arrived at the mountain's base.
"Hei Loulan is on this mountain." Ying Wuxie gazed up at the summit and spoke.
At his side were Zi Wei Fairy, Old Man Zheng Yuan, and Bai Ningbing.
After Zi Wei Fairy and Old Man Zheng Yuan had forced Bai Ningbing into submission, they had obtained Ying Wuxie's whereabouts. Ying Wuxie was himself a clone of Demon Venerable Spectral Soul, and his lifelong mission had always been to rescue the original body.
However, constrained by his own strength and Fang Yuan's tactical arrangements, Ying Wuxie had never managed to enter Heavenly Court. After the Battle of Destiny, when Destiny Gu was destroyed and Fang Yuan fled, Ying Wuxie had drifted about Central Continent, even resenting Fang Yuan for not seizing the opportunity to rescue Spectral Soul's main body.
Only after Zi Wei Fairy presented ample evidence did Ying Wuxie learn that his original body had long since left Heavenly Court, having freed himself on his own.
Ying Wuxie was overjoyed, and naturally abandoned Fang Yuan on the spot to join forces with Zi Wei Fairy and the others.
From Ying Wuxie's mouth, Zi Wei Fairy and the others learned that he had just parted ways with Hei Loulan. Thus, the four Gu Immortals quietly made their way here.
Ying Wuxie spoke in a low voice: "Hei Loulan is a formidable schemer. Though her cultivation is low and her Future Body killing move has failed, leaving her combat strength lacking, she is tenacious, patient, and brimming with ambition. She must never be underestimated."
Ying Wuxie harbored no doubts about his own side's strength. What worried him most was whether Hei Loulan could actually be turned to their cause and betray Fang Yuan.
On this point, however, Zi Wei Fairy was quite confident. She smiled faintly: "I am fully confident in my ability to win over Hei Loulan. The relationship between that woman and Fang Yuan is complex but far from solid. Hei Loulan's greatest desire is to kill her father and exact her revenge. Fang Yuan captured Hei Cheng, and it is precisely because his strength towers over Hei Loulan's that he has been able to keep her under control all along. We can turn her by leveraging precisely this angle."
Know your enemy, know yourself, and you shall never be defeated!
Back then, Zi Wei Fairy had exhausted every means to deduce Fang Yuan's location, but Fang Yuan was cunning as a ghost, and among his greatest accomplishments in the Wisdom Path was his mastery of protection against divination.
Zi Wei Fairy had been helpless against Fang Yuan himself, but she had turned his subordinates inside out with her investigations. Unfortunately, even when she had tried to use these indirect approaches to pinpoint Fang Yuan's position, every attempt had ended in failure.
But now, Zi Wei Fairy only needed to deal with Hei Loulan. All those past failures had become the source of her confidence and assurance.
Without delay, Zi Wei Fairy calmly laid out her plan: "This time, Ying Wuxie, you stay behind. Bai Ningbing, you approach Hei Loulan. Tell her you received information from Ying Wuxie and came to pay a visit. Once you get close to Hei Loulan, launch a surprise attack — freeze and capture her. Once she is restrained, I will handle the persuasion."
"Why not let me go along as well?" Ying Wuxie was not entirely at ease.
Bai Ningbing shot him a glance, then immediately soared into the air.
Ying Wuxie hurriedly looked to Zi Wei Fairy, but she simply shook her head with a faint smile: "We'll just stay here and watch how things unfold."
Bai Ningbing streaked across the sky like a white rainbow, rising high above to survey the summit, and called out in a clear voice: "Is Hei Loulan here?"
After a moment, Hei Loulan emerged from a cave on the mountainside, frowning slightly as she looked at Bai Ningbing: "It's you?"
Bai Ningbing chuckled, pointing a finger at Hei Loulan: "I have already defected to Demon Venerable Spectral Soul, and I've come here specifically to capture you. Hei Loulan, if you know what's good for you, you might as well surrender quietly."
Hei Loulan's eyes widened: "Are you serious?"
At the mountain's base, Ying Wuxie was so furious he nearly stamped his feet: "I knew Bai Ningbing would screw things up. She's eccentric and perverse, with fun as her top priority. She's doing this on purpose — she definitely thinks this would be hilarious!"
Sure enough, the next instant, Bai Ningbing burst into laughter: "Of course I'm serious!"
The words had barely left her lips when she transformed into a white rainbow and lunged straight at Hei Loulan.
Hei Loulan had already been secretly preparing. At that moment she let out a low shout, thrust both hands upward, and unleashed a sky full of raging flames to meet the incoming white rainbow.
Caught off guard, Bai Ningbing was forced back high into the sky.
But the excitement on her face only grew: "Fire Path methods? You've actually switched to cultivating this path? Haha, how interesting — I've been wanting to fight you for ages! But how long can you hold out against me?"
Immortal path killing move — White Manifestation!
Bai Ningbing fearlessly activated her trump card, her human form dissolving as she enveloped the mountain peak in a blizzard of frigid ice and frost.
Hei Loulan dove into the cave. Bai Ningbing, undaunted by the possibility of an ambush, charged straight in after her.
The two clashed inside the cave, their battle producing thunderous booms as the mountain shook and the earth cracked.
After just a few exchanges, Hei Loulan had already fallen into a disadvantageous position, her situation looking exceedingly grim.