To break through the Heavenly Court's encirclement, Longevity Heaven and Qi Jue Demon Immortal joined forces, adapting to the situation. They utilized the earth veins, completely shattering Qin Dingling's killing formation.
The Calamity Altar and Qi Jue Demon Immortal emerged from the earth veins and swiftly separated, both continuing their ascent toward the upper levels.
Several of Heavenly Court's Immortal Gu Houses also appeared in sequence further behind.
Qin Dingling transmitted a message to Fang Zheng: "Stop them!"
The command was unnecessary. Fang Zheng had already built up his power.
Boom!
The Demon-Slaying List shook violently, shooting out a colossal pillar of blood-red light. It swept horizontally toward the Calamity Altar and Qi Jue Demon Immortal.
This grand and overwhelming offensive sent shockwaves through Miao Yin and Hei Tu, rattling them to their core.
Fang Zheng had been holding back, restrained in his effort to capture the three immortals alive. The attack before them now revealed the true, terrifying might of the Eighth Transformation Demon-Slaying List!
The colossal pillar of blood-light hurtled forward. Both the Calamity Altar and the Qi Jue Demon Immortal moved to block it, their momentum briefly stalled. This delay allowed Qin Dingling and the others, who were catching up from behind, to ensnare them.
"Well done, Fang Zheng! Once you've dealt with those three immortals, join us, and we'll surround and kill them together," Qin Dingling ordered once more.
At this moment, the Qi Jue Demon Immortal's combat power had plummeted due to her involvement in the Phantom Soul Ambush, but as long as she joined forces with the Calamity Altar, they were still evenly matched with the Heavenly Court side. Where did Qin Dingling get such confidence?
"Yes." Fang Zheng's face was stern. Just as he received the order, Bai Ningbing, who was nearby, suddenly made her move.
In truth, Bai Ningbing's ice-path killer move had been charged and ready for a long time, but Fang Zheng had always been dismissive. He had once manipulated the Demon-Slaying List to fight against the Eighth Transformation ice-path Gu Immortal, Ice Crystal Immortal King, and had even been hit by the Snow Clan's Immortal-Suppressing Coffin killer move. That battle experience remained vivid in Fang Zheng's memory. Compared to the Ice Crystal Immortal King, Bai Ningbing was merely a Seventh Transformation cultivator, far inferior!
However, the moment this move was unleashed by Bai Ningbing, Fang Zheng's expression changed drastically.
Bai Ningbing had not attacked the Demon-Slaying List; instead, she had struck directly at Miao Yin and Hei Tu!
Fang Zheng hastily changed his technique. A blood mist enveloped Miao Yin and Hei Tu, and at the critical juncture, he blocked Bai Ningbing's killer move.
"Bai Ningbing, have you lost your mind?! Attacking us?!" Miao Yin was drenched in cold sweat from the shock, shouting furiously.
"No! This might actually be the best way," Hei Tu's expression was shaken, but he quickly grasped her intent.
Fairy Miao Yin was taken aback, then quickly grasped the reasoning.
Fairy Zi Wei had once been the leader of Heaven Court and knew everything about it. She had shared all the intelligence she had on Immortal Gu Houses with Ying Wu Xie's group, and naturally she had not left out Miao Yin, Bai Ningbing, and Bai Tu.
In the past, even with Demon Venerable Soul as their leader, Fairy Zi Wei and the others had lacked an Immortal Gu House. Compared to Longevity Heaven and Heaven Court, they were undoubtedly the weaker party.
So Fairy Zi Wei had worked to bolster their intelligence, hoping to bridge the gap.
Gu Yue Fang Zheng knew Bai Ningbing and the others extremely well, and likewise, the three immortals — Bai Ningbing among them — had a deep understanding of Fang Zheng and the Demon Slaying Ranking.
Immortal Gu Houses were especially notable in this regard: once constructed, their methods were exceedingly difficult to modify. The more exceptional the Immortal Gu House, the more true this became.
Why?
Take the Demon Slaying Ranking, for instance. It was a pinnacle Immortal Gu House among the Eighth Transformation. Its performance had reached such an extreme of perfection that improvement was nearly impossible. Even if someone devised a brilliant idea for enhancement, it might not be feasible to apply it to the entire structure. The Demon Slaying Ranking was extraordinarily complex — built from countless Gu Insects working in concert. Change even one element, and it affected the whole system, often meaning a complete overhaul. In that case, one might as well build an entirely new Immortal Gu House.
Fairy Miao Yin was not stupid; she simply hadn't processed it all in that first instant.
Now, the more she thought, the clearer it became: "The Iron Family's Demon Suppression Tower in the Southern Border excels at imprisoning and capturing, but Heaven Court's Demon Slaying Ranking possesses no restraining techniques at all. Heaven Court must have given Fang Zheng orders to capture us all alive. That's why, throughout the fight, his attacks have been restrained and holding back — it was only just now, when dealing with the Breath Extinction Demon Immortal and the Disaster Destiny Cauldron, that he finally went all out!"
As for why they wanted to capture the three Immortals alive, the answer was obvious — it was all for Fang Yuan!
Fairy Ziwei had constructed a Wisdom Path grand formation right before the eyes of numerous Heaven Court Gu Immortals, ultimately calculating Fang Yuan's true body location. How could Qin Dingling not understand the value of these people?
Following this logic, Fairy Miao Yin immediately guessed further: "It seems Fang Yuan has successfully escaped. The Heaven Court side wants to capture us so they can use us in the future to calculate Fang Yuan's true body location. Although they temporarily lack any great Wisdom Path expert, the ten great sects of the Central Continent are virtually unscathed, with a large pool of Wisdom Path candidates. Moreover, Fairy Ziwei's Purple Stellar True Inheritance was long ago contributed to Heaven Court. The Wisdom Path grand formation is very likely contained within that true inheritance."
Fairy Miao Yin thought of this, and then her thoughts turned to Bai Ningbing. She couldn't help but gnash her teeth: "Bai Ningbing, you lunatic!"
But the very next moment, Fairy Miao Yin's eyes went wide once more.
Bai Ningbing's madness was even more extreme than she had just imagined — Bai Ningbing had deliberately retracted her killer move, the White Aspect, restoring her flesh and blood body!
"Come at me, Fang Zheng! Make your move!" Bai Ningbing roared. Her body streaked like a white rainbow, darting all around the Demon Slaying Ranking and unleashing countless ice cones.
The ice cones struck the Demon Slaying Ranking but could not pierce through it, only leaving behind futile traces of white frost.
"Hahaha!" Black Rabbit laughed aloud as well, imitating Bai Ningbing by dismissing his own defenses and plunging straight into the battle.
"That one's gone mad too!" Miao Yin stared wide-eyed and muttered under her breath.
Black Rabbit was vicious and sinister, her temperament the complete opposite of the White Rabbit's. When she got ruthless, she wouldn't even care about her own life.
The three immortals were besieging the Demon Slaying Ranking. Especially since Bai Ningbing and Black Rabbit had abandoned their defenses, pouring almost all their energy into offense, Fang Zheng was momentarily overwhelmed and unable to fend off all attacks.
He wanted to capture these three female immortals alive, not kill them by mistake. Qin Dingling had instructed him to divinate Fang Yuan's location; the more clues, the better. Accidentally killing one of them could cause the future divination to fail. Fang Zheng knew he bore an immense responsibility.
But the weakest point of the Immortal Gu House, the Demon Slaying Ranking, was precisely its lack of capture methods. When it was first constructed, which of the Heavenly Court's seniors would have considered testing for that?
Demon Slaying, Demon Slaying—as the name implied, its purpose was to slay Demonic Path Gu Immortals. Why would they need such a troublesome method as capturing prisoners alive?