When Fairy Ziwei and the others came chasing after, what they saw was an endless sea of black bats.
In this layer of the underground abyss, the black bat swarm was the sole overlord above all things. Now that they had been intruded upon, they had fallen into complete frenzy and rage.
Ancient Black Bats drove the Antiquity Black Bats, the Antiquity Black Bats enslaved the Desolate Beast Black Bats, and the Desolate Beast Black Bats swept up billions of ordinary black bats along with them. When Shadow Sect, Eternal Life Celestial, and Heavenly Court charged in after their quarry, the enraged swarm directed every last drop of its unspent fury at the three factions.
Even though the Gu Immortals on all three sides were the most powerful beings in the current world, their advance was inevitably thrown into disarray.
"So many black bats!"
"We need to kill the Ancient Black Bats within the swarm—that's the only way to scatter them!"
"Too many—the scale of these bat swarms is simply staggering. We can't afford to waste time on them. Don't forget our primary target is Fang Yuan!"
The three factions carved into the bat swarm like men surging against violent, roaring waves.
These Gu Immortals were all top-tier Eighth Transformation cultivators of the current era. Though the black bat swarms were astonishing in scale, when it came to sheer power, they still could not withstand the edge of the Immortal masters.
But even after the Immortals carved out a bloody path, there was no sign of the Myriad Year Battle Chariot, Spectral Soul, Green Hatred, or any of the others.
"What's going on?"
"Where are they? They haven't left a single trace behind!"
"That's impossible—we clearly tracked them here following the trail of their battle!"
The assembled Immortals exchanged anxious glances.
The Calamity Fate Altar suddenly erupted with golden radiance, dissolving tens of thousands of black bats around it and instantly clearing a vast expanse of space. From within the altar came Ice Plug River's impatient voice: "Fairy Ziwei, tell me—where did Fang Yuan go?"
Ancestor Zheng Yuan gave a cold snort: "How would we know?"
Qin Dingling laughed coldly: "Shadow Sect, do you really think we can't see through your little games? You've been trailing at the rear—partly because you couldn't keep up, but isn't it also true that you've been trying to interfere with us?"
Qin Dingling's words were razor-sharp, at once sowing discord and laying out facts, instantly putting Shadow Sect in a deeply uncomfortable position.
Fang Yuan, Spectral Soul, Green Hatred, Ancestor Qi Sea, and Qi Jue—all of them had suddenly vanished. It was far too strange. It left the three factions trailing behind practically jumping with frustration.
Fairy Ziwei's brows knitted tightly as she spoke in a somber tone: "We have also lost contact with our master. I strongly suspect that other forces have intervened. Our most urgent task is to find them. If we turn on each other now, we will only let whoever intervened achieve their goal."
Ice Plug River's voice was cold, making no effort to conceal the killing intent within: "Then I shall have to see what the great Wisdom Path expert is capable of."
"Hmph, then watch carefully." Fairy Ziwei spoke, then immediately sprang into action, activating her killer move and rapidly calculating.
Qin Dingling said nothing, but her killing intent was equally unconcealed. The moment she discovered Shadow Sect playing any devious tricks, Heavenly Court would move to surround and annihilate them.
Squeak, squeak, squeak...
The surrounding black bats surged in once more. After a moment's hesitation, the other Immortal Gu Masters struck out one by one, shielding Fairy Ziwei from the swarm.
Fairy Ziwei's entire body was shrouded in a purple-gold luminescent mist that billowed outward, constantly spreading.
Her face gradually turned pale as her Immortal Essence was consumed at a furious rate, until even her body began to tremble. Only then did she suddenly open her eyes, revealing pupils completely flooded with purple light.
The purple-gold mist rapidly dissipated, and Fairy Ziwei's eyes gradually returned to normal.
Her aura had clearly weakened considerably—a sign that the calculation just now had pushed her to her absolute limit.
Under the gazes of all the assembled Immortals, she exhaled a breath of turbid qi: "I've figured it out. A battlefield killer move swept them all up, causing us all to lunge at nothing."
"A battlefield killer move?"
"Who could have laid an ambush here?"
"Hmph, what proof do you have?"
Fairy Ziwei let out a cold laugh. As a great Wisdom Path expert, she naturally would not speak without evidence. She immediately dispersed the bat swarm around them and pointed out a wisp of Earth Path aura that was nearly dissipated, guiding the other Immortals to perceive it.
The Immortals seized upon this wisp of aura and immediately set about analyzing it.
"It really is an Earth Path Immortal move!"
"It does seem to be a battlefield killer move."
"Let me try my methods to find it!"
A certain Heavenly Court Immortal made his move, brimming with confidence at first, but quickly returned in defeat with nothing to show for it.
Before long, this wisp of Earth Path aura dissipated completely, leaving behind the vast swarm of black bats to continue assailing the three factions.
Every Immortal wore an ugly expression.
Some still harbored suspicions toward Shadow Sect; others were contemplating how to uncover the fully concealed Immortal battlefield; still others had no choice but to keep fighting the black bats.
On Eternal Life Celestial's side, Ice Plug River remained somewhat skeptical.
Fairy Ziwei carried the heaviest mood of all. Even as she fended off the black bats, she pressed Heavenly Court with a sharp question: "This wisp of Earth Path aura—you should recognize it better than anyone. Heavenly Court, what do you have to say?"
Qin Dingling was silent for a moment before finally speaking: "That's right. This is very similar to Paradise Earth's methods. Our thoughts are aligned on this—find this Immortal battlefield, then destroy it!"