"Fang Yuan, where do you think you can run?" Demon Venerable Spectral Soul sneered, black smoke surging violently around his body.
An ancient soul beast, resembling a giant python, flew out from the swirling black smoke, enveloped in waves of baleful wind, and lunged toward Dragon Palace.
The orange-gold radiance above Dragon Palace suddenly trembled, releasing a wisp of pink mist.
The mist swept outward, and the ancient soul beast was instantly pulled into Dragon Palace, suppressed without the slightest chance to resist.
This was precisely the Immortal Gu killer move — Dreamscape Mist!
The only thing Spectral Soul feared about Dragon Palace was this technique. But now that Dreamscape Mist had just been deployed, Spectral Soul seized the split-second opening, his body flickering like a specter as his speed surged, closing in on Dragon Palace.
Immortal Gu killer move — Qi Wall!
Ancestor Qi Sea thrust both palms forward. A great wind howled, instantly condensing into a monumental qi wall that blocked Spectral Soul's path.
Spectral Soul snorted coldly and shattered the qi wall, but he had already lost his window of opportunity.
Dragon Palace changed direction, and the aura of the Dreamscape Mist killer move grew rich once more.
Behind them, Qing Chou roared, desperate to give chase, but his body was utterly spent. In just a few breaths, he was left far behind.
Dragon Palace, Spectral Soul, and Ancestor Qi Sea — the three parties clashed fiercely even as they tore through the sky at breakneck speed.
Ancestor Qi Sea played the role of a perfect agitator, frustrating Spectral Soul's efforts time and again.
Spectral Soul grew irritated and decided to strike at Ancestor Qi Sea with lethal force.
But at that moment, Dragon Palace began launching frequent counterattacks to cover Ancestor Qi Sea, with the Dreamscape Mist killer move particularly threatening to deploy again, forcing Spectral Soul to remain perpetually on guard.
For a time, the battlefield reached a stalemate!
Demon Venerable Spectral Soul had not yet recovered to his Peak Stage, so the gap in combat power between him, Dragon Palace, and Ancestor Qi Sea was not great. Once Dragon Palace and Ancestor Qi Sea coordinated their efforts and shared the burden of each other's pressure, Spectral Soul felt a growing sense of helplessness — unable to attend to both fronts simultaneously, like pressing down one gourd only to see another float back up.
At this point, Demon Venerable Spectral Soul actually began to miss Qing Chou.
"I shouldn't have weakened Qing Chou to such a degree. I should have let him retain some of his combat power to disrupt their coordination!" Spectral Soul felt a twinge of regret.
He fought alone and needed no cooperation. But Fang Yuan, Ancestor Qi Sea, and their allies were in an entirely different situation — they had to combine their efforts cleverly just to hold their ground against him.
Qing Chou was blinded by hatred. Once he joined the fray, he would inevitably disrupt the coordination between Fang Yuan and Ancestor Qi Sea, giving Spectral Soul ample room to maneuver.
Still, Spectral Soul's earlier tactical reasoning had not been wrong. Had he fully subdued Qing Chou, his advantage would have surged dramatically, virtually securing victory.
But Ancestor Qi Sea had ruined it!
Just a moment longer, and Spectral Soul would have completely subdued Qing Chou. Yet that brief window was enough for Fang Yuan to vanish without a trace. Demon Venerable Spectral Soul had no desire to take risks in a place like this.
This time, Spectral Soul had held the advantage of striking from the shadows while the enemy was exposed. But what about next time?
If Fang Yuan was on his guard, could such an opportunity ever arise again?
Even Spectral Soul dared not make that guarantee.
Zi Wei Immortal's divination methods existed, yes — but did Fang Yuan truly have no countermeasures?
Heavenly Court was the perfect example. No matter how they tried to capture Fang Yuan, they had never succeeded.
And what was the end result?
Fang Yuan grew stronger with every battle, eventually charging straight into Heavenly Court and destroying the Fate Gu!
Although numerous existences behind Fang Yuan had invested in him and pushed him forward, what reason did all those people have to invest in a single individual?
Were there truly no better candidates?
Even Heavenly Spirit Masters were not lacking in number.
Fang Yuan was being used by Heavenly Will and by so many forces precisely because he possessed unique and extraordinary value.
Setting everything else aside, when it came to the art of escaping, even Spectral Soul had to give him a measure of respect.
Fang Yuan's mastery of escape was profoundly deep, his thinking vicious and cunning beyond measure! He excelled especially at borrowing the momentum of others, fleeing under the pursuit and blockade of the great factions while continuously growing his own strength.
Spectral Soul possessed immeasurable combat experience, and he understood this deeply: when dealing with an enemy like Fang Yuan, one had to give the utmost seriousness. Once you struck, you had to aim for a killing blow in a single strike — absolutely leaving him no breathing room to recover or heal. An enemy like Fang Yuan was far too adept at seizing opportunities. Given even a sliver of a chance, he could go from a washed-up fish to a leviathan in the blink of an eye.
Fang Yuan was precisely that sort of person — give him a ray of sunlight and he'd blaze brilliantly; give him a drop of rain and he'd take root; give him a moment's time and he'd stir up untold trouble.
That was right — Spectral Soul feared Fang Yuan.
This was something even he himself had to acknowledge.
Because in Fang Yuan, he saw a reflection of himself!
"Fang Yuan, you cannot defend forever. How long can you hold out? I will kill you!" Demon Venerable Spectral Soul's voice was cold as frost, never missing a chance to apply psychological pressure.
"Qi Sea, after this battle, even if you go into hiding, I will storm the Eastern Sea. I will destroy your Qi Sea first, then slaughter every last one of your subordinates across the two days!" Spectral Soul turned his head and threatened Ancestor Qi Sea as well.
Ancestor Qi Sea's clone smiled calmly: "So the great Demon Venerable is nothing but empty words after all."
Demon Venerable Spectral Soul let out a cold laugh.
Ancestor Qi Sea's expression suddenly changed drastically as black qi coiled around his body, violently corroding his physical form.
Spectral Soul had used words to divide Ancestor Qi Sea's attention. Although this was not an actual opening, in Spectral Soul's eyes, it was a tactical opportunity worth exploiting!
Ancestor Qi Sea hastily retreated. Demon Venerable Spectral Soul pressed the attack, but Dragon Palace swiftly flew over to provide cover, greatly alleviating the pressure on Ancestor Qi Sea's clone.
Ancestor Qi Sea exerted every ounce of his strength to purge the hidden danger from his body. After regrouping, he immediately re-entered the battle.
The stalemate resumed once more.
But this time, no matter how Spectral Soul goaded and provoked, Ancestor Qi Sea refused to let his guard slip again.
And so the three parties continued to entangle one another, stirring up countless storms and thunder as their battle rolled northward with tremendous momentum.
They flew past the Sorrow Wind Mountain Range and entered the intestinal corridor.