ROAR!
The dragon's roar shook heaven and earth, sending wind and clouds into turmoil. Its colossal body, vast as a mountain range, charged at the forefront. Behind it came the immortals of the Two Heavens Alliance, and at the rear, the Dragon Palace held the line.
Ancestral Qi Wall!
This was a measure left behind by Immortal Venerable Ancestral Origin. It materialized once more as
"Five Domains unified — this evil dragon has grown even more powerful. And moreover... since the Battle of Destiny, when the Ancestral Qi Wall was shattered by
"Lady Qin, should I take to the field?" Jiuling Xiangu's voice transmission reached her at that moment.
Among those who had once wielded the Transformation Path at Heavenly Court, the great powers Zhang Feixiong and Roubian Xian had already fallen in battle. Jiuling Xiangu was the last Transformation Path powerhouse remaining.
"No — the subjugation of Qingchou is one step away from completion. Continue refining the Grudge Gu with everything you have," Qin Dingling immediately transmitted back. Then she barked, "
A tiger's roar and a crane's cry rang out simultaneously as two ancient legendary wild beasts surged forward to block Di Zangsheng's path.
Three ancient legendary wild beasts clashed together, the battle shaking the earth and trembling the sky.
After only a handful of exchanges, Shabi Ninety-Five and Ruan Dan began to falter. Their appearances were wretched — in pure physical combat, they were no match for Di Zangsheng whatsoever.
They resorted to unleashing their killing moves. In an instant, grey qi slashed like blades while Dan-light erupted and scattered.
Di Zangsheng let out a dragon's roar. A shimmer of purple-gold radiance surfaced across his body, shielding him from every incoming attack.
Then, the purple-gold light abruptly vanished. Di Zangsheng's whiskers grew rapidly, each one shooting outward like a hundred or a thousand spirit snakes streaming from a cave — the spectacle was overwhelming.
Shabi Ninety-Five and Ruan Dan could not withstand this onslaught and were forced to retreat.
"This evil dragon actually has Immortal Gu now — he can use killing moves!" Qin Dingling's heart sank. She cast a deep, distant glance toward the Dragon Palace.
Di Zangsheng was already an ancient legendary creature of extraordinary intelligence, more than capable of wielding Gu Insects to execute killing moves. However, during the Battle of Destiny, he had been enslaved hastily by the Dragon Palace, with no time to equip him with Gu. Back then, he had fought purely through his physical strength, unable to counter Feng Jiuge's Song of Destiny and instantly falling under its control. Against other killing moves as well, he could only endure them with his brute body.
After the Battle of Destiny, Wu Shuai had begun considering how to arm Di Zangsheng with Gu Insects.
But at the time, Wu Shuai was stretched thin and had no Immortal Gu to spare.
Fang Yuan's main body did possess quite a few Immortal Gu, but first, his main body had been traversing the Western Desert and had not rendezvoused with Wu Shuai right away. Second, the surplus Immortal Gu were not necessarily suited for Di Zangsheng's use.
That said, Wu Shuai's fortune was exceptional. Seizing the opportunity, he successfully became the Alliance Leader of the Two Heavens Alliance.
With resources now at hand, Wu Shuai began outfitting Di Zangsheng. By the present day, having divided the forces of both Heavens with Fang Yuan's main body, and under the pretext of attempting to destroy the Qi Cultivation Fruit, he had demolished several Cave Heavens and forced hard bargains with alliance Gu Immortals alike. At last, Di Zangsheng had acquired a sizable number of Gu Insects and several fundamental killing moves.
Di Zangsheng overwhelmed Ruan Dan and Shabi Ninety-Five, driving them aside, then surged forward with savage ferocity.
Qin Dingling shrieked her command and soared into the air, entering one of the Immortal Gu Houses. Several Immortal Gu Houses flew toward Di Zangsheng in unison, forming layer upon layer of defensive lines.
Di Zangsheng's charge faltered momentarily. Shabi Ninety-Five and Ruan Dan rejoined the siege as well.
"We've finally held him back — for now!" Qin Dingling had just begun to steady her nerves when she redirected the Dragon Palace in a sweeping arc straight toward the Qi Cultivation Fruit.
Heavenly Court's Qi Cultivation Fruit was simply too massive, too conspicuous!
Wu Shuai's tactics were vicious and ruthless — he struck where the enemy could not afford to be struck. Qin Dingling's expression changed drastically as she hurriedly commanded the Immortal Gu Houses to split off a portion of their forces to intercept the Dragon Palace.
"The situation is dire! If the Qi Cultivation Fruit is shattered, all of Heavenly Court will be destroyed! Wake the immortals in the Immortal Tomb at once!" Zhou Xiongxin urged.
"Or have Jiuling Xiangu and Chixin Xingzhe reinforce the front!" Bai Cangshui proposed.
Qin Dingling gritted her teeth and made her final decision: "Wake the immortals in the Immortal Tomb!"
Heavenly Court's Immortal Tomb had long been more than half destroyed, and the Gu Immortals slumbering within numbered only a scattered few. Nevertheless, once awakened, this force served as valuable reinforcements, shouldering a tremendous share of the pressure. The battle line remained perilously fragile, but it was barely holding together.
"Go — strike the Qi Cultivation Fruit!" Wu Shuai commanded the alliance Gu Immortals.
These Gu Immortals had already dispersed like a scattering of sand, slipping through the Qi Wall in every direction, drawing ever closer to the Qi Cultivation Fruit.
Seeing this, Qin Dingling was so furious she could feel the fire in her blood. She gnashed her teeth in wrath. "These foreign beasts — I will grind their bones to dust and utterly annihilate them!"
The Two Heavens Alliance's Gu Immortals were not particularly strong individually, but their sheer numbers made them the soft underbelly of manpower-starved Heavenly Court.
"Don't worry — these alien Gu Immortals may look numerous, but in truth their hearts are cowardly. Send a single person to circle the Qi Cultivation Fruit and swiftly slaughter a few of them, and the rest will hesitate, their morale crumbling to nothing!" Crown Prince Fengxian suggested.
"Who is up to the task?" Qin Dingling demanded.
"Die!" He dove like a hawk, unleashing his killing move. His attack was razor-sharp, his divine might unstoppable.
"Aaagh—!"
"What killing move is that?!"
Two alien Gu Immortals fell — one gravely wounded, the other killed outright on the spot.
Che Wei's combat prowess at this critical moment was nothing short of stunning, shocking both sides of the battlefield into silence.
The two alien Gu Immortals he had defeated both possessed Eighth Transformation cultivation.
"His killing move... it seems to be an entirely new path?"
"Absolutely terrifying. Until we figure out what it does, if I charge in, I'll be cut clean in half."
"I'll wait for Fang Yuan to make his move!"
The Two Heavens Alliance's Gu Immortals grew deeply hesitant, and their advance slowed to a crawl.
"Useless trash!" Deep within the Dragon Palace, Wu Shuai's brow furrowed deeply, a cold fury settling over his features.
At the critical juncture, these alien Gu Immortals proved utterly unreliable — they could not even serve as adequate cannon fodder.
But Wu Shuai had come prepared. He swept his hand forward. "You four — go!"
Four figures shot out from the Dragon Palace — the Four Dragon Generals: Zhang Yin, Rong Po, Yang Zihe, and the elder Beifeng, who had filled the vacancy left by Shi Miao.
These four Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals, all enslaved by the Dragon Palace, were loyal to the death and utterly fearless. They split into four charges without hesitation.