Heavenly Court was forever filled with light.
Fang Yuan, disguised as Qi Sea Old Ancestor, was now inside Heavenly Court.
He hovered in midair, gazing up at the Qi Cultivation Fruit before him.
The Qi Cultivation Fruit that had grown inside Heavenly Court was enormous beyond reason, towering like a mountain range, majestic to the extreme.
"A Qi Cultivation Fruit of this magnitude — placed inside an ordinary Eighth Transformation grotto-heaven, it would barely fit. It would tear right through the sky walls. Only because Heavenly Court possesses such deep foundations, and has previously absorbed vast quantities of Cang Xuanzi's Space Path fruits, is there sufficient space to contain a Qi Cultivation Fruit like this."
Fang Yuan mused inwardly.
The last time he had come to Heavenly Court, he had revealed his true face to participate in the Battle of Destiny, inflicting a devastating defeat upon them. This time, he had come disguised as a friend of Heavenly Court, and was actually going to help them resolve the internal threat posed by the Qi Cultivation Fruit.
The winds of fate shifted constantly, often beyond anyone's prediction.
"How is it?" Qin Dingling stood right beside Fang Yuan, asking.
Fang Yuan nodded slightly. "This is the first time this old man has seen a Qi Cultivation Fruit of such scale. It goes to show that your side's foundations are truly unfathomable — truly worthy of being called number one under heaven."
After a brief pause, he continued, "After a preliminary inspection just now, my previous methods could still work, but this Qi Cultivation Fruit is simply too massive. It would be best to set up an Immortal Formation — the larger the Qi Path Immortal Formation, the more time it would save."
Qin Dingling showed a hint of surprise. "I didn't expect that you, Old Ancestor, had even conceived of an Immortal Formation."
Fang Yuan shook his head. "Not exactly. The Qi Path Immortal Formation I would set up merely enhances my Qi Path killer moves. The true means of eliminating the Qi Cultivation Fruit still rely on the Qi Path killer moves that I activate."
Qin Dingling nodded upon hearing this — that made sense.
She smiled and immediately produced an Eighth Transformation Qi Path Immortal Gu. "Heavenly Court is not lacking in Qi Path Immortal Gu. To resolve this internal threat, Heavenly Court is willing to exhaust its Qi Path resources and do everything in its power to accomplish this. Old Ancestor, please examine this Immortal Gu."
Fang Yuan's gaze was immediately drawn to it.
"Could this be… the Human Qi Immortal Gu?" His pupils dilated, his expression shifting slightly.
The Human Qi Immortal Gu resembled a bee, no bigger than a thumb, its wings ceaselessly beating as it hovered above Qin Dingling's palm, its entire body emanating a misty, ethereal aura.
Qin Dingling handed the Human Qi Immortal Gu to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan opened his palm and caught it, staring at it without blinking, praising, "Excellent Gu, excellent Gu. This Gu is deeply connected to the Human Path — its development potential is immense!"
Qin Dingling smiled and promptly produced a second Immortal Gu, presenting it to Fang Yuan.
This was the Earth Qi Immortal Gu, shaped like a butterfly, earth-brown in color, similarly radiating a misty aura.
Fang Yuan held the Human Qi Immortal Gu in his left hand and the Earth Qi Immortal Gu in his right, looking from one to the other with great interest. "Marvelous, marvelous."
"This is the Sky Qi Immortal Gu." Qin Dingling handed over a third Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu.
The Sky Qi Immortal Gu resembled a dragonfly, its body a deep green, adorned with eight pale blue translucent wings. As they gently beat, a semi-transparent current of air wafted from its entire body.
Fang Yuan's expression turned solemn. "This Sky Qi Immortal Gu is closely linked to the Heavenly Path. To be honest, the means I developed to eliminate the Qi Cultivation Fruit also came from glimpsing a sliver of the Heavenly Path's mystery — only then was I able to succeed. If I had possessed this Gu back then, I likely could have emerged from seclusion even sooner."
"Among the various schools of Gu cultivation, the Heavenly Path and the Human Path are the most unique. You, Old Ancestor, have nearly exhausted the Qi Path — which is precisely why you can draw upon analogous understanding and grasp the true essence of other paths more readily." Qin Dingling offered a word of praise, then shifted her tone. "These Three Qi Immortal Gu are the core of the Three Qi Return killer move — genuine treasures of Heavenly Court, rightfully belonging to none but its own members."
Seeing Fang Yuan's reaction, Qin Dingling felt quite pleased and began to hint that if Qi Sea Old Ancestor wanted these Gu insects, he would need to join Heavenly Court.
Hearing this, a trace of hesitation appeared on Fang Yuan's face, though inwardly he chuckled.
His expression and tone just now had been nothing more than an act.
If he truly cultivated the Qi Path as his main path, then the temptation of the Three Qi Immortal Gu would be absolutely irresistible. He had already tried many times before — these Three Qi Immortal Gu were the core of the Three Qi Return killer move, virtually irreplaceable. If one forcibly substituted them with other Qi Path Immortal Gu, even if the Three Qi Return killer move could somehow be reworked, it would lose all practical combat value.
Therefore, despite having long since obtained the complete Primordial Qi Path True Inheritance, the actual benefit to Fang Yuan was limited.
Moreover, Qi Sea Old Ancestor was merely one of Fang Yuan's identities. Besides, he was by no means lacking in Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu — Attitude Gu, Variant Gu, Wisdom Sword Gu, Flowing Years Gu, Soul Beast Token, Regret Gu, Spring Gu, Summer Gu, Atmosphere Gu, Realm Gu, Boost Gu, Steal Life Gu, Water Refine Gu, Ascend Refine Gu, Dream Decree Gu — he practically had them in abundance.
In Fang Yuan's eyes, only Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu could truly stir his excitement.
Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu were exceedingly rare.
He had originally possessed one — Zhi Hui Gu. Unfortunately, this Immortal Gu had long been tampered with by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, and Fang Yuan had been forced to sacrifice it during the Battle of Destiny.
Qin Dingling temporarily lent the Three Qi Immortal Gu, allowing Qi Sea Old Ancestor to familiarize himself with them, and also arranged for several Gu Immortals to work alongside him in refining the Qi Path Immortal Formation.
With the combined strength of the assembled immortals, after several days, the Qi Path Immortal Formation was fully designed.
Fang Yuan and the various Heavenly Court immortals then began setting it up.
The person commanding the main formation was, of course, still Fang Yuan.
But the other formation eyes would be manned by Heavenly Court's Gu Immortals — partly to assist Fang Yuan, and partly to keep watch over him.
After all, Qi Sea Old Ancestor was an outsider. Though a covenant had been signed, he was not yet a member of Heavenly Court. How could Heavenly Court not take precautions?
In truth, it was not only the auxiliary formation Gu Immortals who stood guard.
The core Immortal Gu of the entire Qi Path Grand Formation — the Sky Qi, Earth Qi, and Human Qi Immortal Gu — were all temporarily lent to Fang Yuan by Qin Dingling. Should any anomaly arise, Heavenly Court could immediately reclaim them, stripping Fang Yuan of control over the entire Qi Path Grand Formation.
Furthermore, several Heavenly Court Gu Immortals had participated throughout the refinement process. Even if their attainment in the Qi Path was modest, they still had discerning eyes — hiding things from them would be extraordinarily difficult. In truth, Fang Yuan had not hidden anything within the formation.
The grand formation was absolutely without issue.
"Earth Qi Gu, go!" Fang Yuan launched the Earth Qi Immortal Gu first, infusing it with Immortal Essence.
The Earth Qi Immortal Gu shot out swiftly, then plunged deep into the earth beneath the lower layers of the Qi Cultivation Fruit.