Deep within some ravine in the Central Continent.
The Jieyun Altar hovered silently in midair, flanked by towering, sheer cliff walls, with bottomless darkness stretching far below.
The altar radiated a faint glow, making no effort to conceal its presence. Any wild beast that might have ventured to attack would be instantly driven away by its aura.
Within the cliffs, Zi Wei Fairy and her companions had carved out a massive cave for their temporary use. Purple light flickered inside as a grand wisdom path formation was laid out across the floor. Zi Wei Fairy presided at its center, while Elder Zheng Yuan sat in the auxiliary position. On one hand, he used human path methods to coordinate with Zi Wei Fairy; on the other, he held partial control over some of the immortal formation's mechanisms, specifically to guard against Bing Saichuan.
After all, this was the first time the two sides had cooperated. One could never be too careful.
At the formation's perimeter, several more formation nodes were positioned. Bai Ningbing, Hei Loulan, and Ying Wuxie each occupied one of these nodes, serving as the most critical links.
The purple light swelled and receded like the tide.
After a long while, Zi Wei Fairy slowly opened her eyes and brought the wisdom path immortal formation to a stop. The purple radiance that had spilled outward gradually dissipated.
"How did it go?" Bing Saichuan's voice drifted from within the Jieyun Altar.
Zi Wei Fairy gave a slight shake of her head and sighed. "We're still short by a bit of distance. But this method is absolutely effective. All three of them have signed alliance agreements with Fang Yuan — their connection to him is the closest. As long as we capture a few more Gu Immortals of similar standing, we will certainly be able to pinpoint Fang Yuan's exact location."
The formation was dismantled step by step, and the Gu Insects flew back one by into Zi Wei Fairy's immortal aperture.
Ying Wuxie and the other two rose to their feet.
Bai Ningbing said with a light laugh, "That won't be hard. During the Battle of Destiny, Fang Yuan dispatched more than just us. There were also a great number of transformation path Gu Immortals."
Hei Loulan immediately added, "As far as I know, all those transformation path Gu Immortals were forces Fang Yuan absorbed after conquering an ancient cave heaven. After the Destiny battle, Fang Yuan vanished without a trace, and those people have since scattered all across the Central Continent."
Ying Wuxie shook his head. "But those transformation path Gu Immortals don't have a close relationship with Fang Yuan. Our best next step would be to find Maiden Bai Tu and Fairy Miao Yin — they are the key figures closest in importance to us."
Zi Wei Fairy had finally finished putting away every last Gu Insect used in the formation. She lacked methods like formation flag Gu, so every time she needed to take down a formation, she had to dismantle it entirely — a rather troublesome process.
She turned to the Jieyun Altar, which had been standing guard nearby throughout. "Then why don't we split into two groups, with the primary objective of searching for Bai Tu and Miao Yin? If we happen to encounter any transformation path Gu Immortals under Fang Yuan's command along the way, we can act as circumstances warrant."
A response immediately came from the Jieyun Altar: "Agreed. For our future cooperation, we should keep communicating openly."
Zi Wei Fairy nodded. "Naturally."
This cooperation, though small in scale and brief in duration, was significant in meaning. Both sides had begun to trust one another.
And so, the Jieyun Altar departed with Hei Loulan, while Bai Ningbing and Ying Wuxie remained at Zi Wei Fairy's side. The two groups continued on their separate missions.
The Two Ancient Realms.
The Wan Yue Cave Heaven.
"Wan Yue Fairy, will you refuse to surrender until death?" Xiao Hejian, Cold Ash Fairy, and the others gazed down from above at the dying Gu Immortal amid the ruins.
Wan Yue Fairy possessed Eighth Transformation cultivation and was the master of the Wan Yue Cave Heaven. She held the advantage of terrain, but even so, two fists were no match for four hands. Now she was hanging on by her very last breath.
She spat with contempt, her face twisted with hatred. "You bunch of robbers! My Wan Yue Cave Heaven has never meddled with the outside world. We never provoked you, nor did we harbor any grand ambitions. I will absolutely never surrender to the likes of you!"
"Then die!" Cold Ash Fairy had long lost patience. She flicked a finger, and a streak of grey light shot forth, instantly piercing through Wan Yue Fairy.
Cold Ash Fairy reached out with a hook gesture, and Wan Yue Fairy's soul followed the grey rainbow into her grasp.
"This is the soul of an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal. Consuming her would be far more effective than devouring a soul core, and far easier to absorb." Cold Ash Fairy was in truth Demon Venerable Soul, though he had deceived the entire Wu Shuai Alliance.
Xiao Hejian glanced at her coolly. "Cold Ash Fairy, you charged at the forefront of this battle, slaughtering without limit, and collected a vast number of mortal souls along with quite a few Gu Immortal souls. All of those are your spoils of war. But this Eighth Transformation soul was specifically requested by the Alliance Leader. You must not keep it for yourself."
Demon Venerable Soul paused for a moment, then smilingly handed the Eighth Transformation soul over to Xiao Hejian. "Since the Alliance Leader has requested it, how could I dare hold it back?"