In Fang Yuan's hand was an Information Path Gu insect. Recorded inside the Gu insect was the battle report from the earlier pursuit battle.
The general content was: the Heavenly Court had won a great victory, Demonic Venerable You Hun had been killed in action, Fang Yuan had fled, Demonic Immortal Qi Jue and Mao Li Qiu had been suppressed, Elder Zheng Yuan had been captured, the Shadow Sect's Fairy Zi Wei and Ying Wuxie were at large, Ancestor Qi Hai, Bai Ningbing, Miss White Rabbit, and Fairy Miao Yin had gone missing — presumed dead.
"It seems that in today's world, even without an Immortal Gu House ranking, the Divine Emperor City being ranked first among all Immortal Gu Houses is well-deserved." Fang Yuan sighed.
Five hundred years ago in his previous life, during the period of chaos when the Five Regions were at war, several great Information Path cultivators had jointly compiled many rankings. Every ranking was fiercely competitive, and the Immortal Gu House ranking was no exception.
But five hundred years ago in his previous life, the Divine Emperor City had never existed.
Fang Yuan's rebirth had brought about tremendous changes. Now, before the Immortal Gu House ranking had even been published, there already existed a Divine Emperor City that held a secure spot at the top.
"Judging by this, even if an Immortal Gu House ranking were to appear in the future, the Divine Emperor City's first place would remain unshakable." Fang Yuan estimated.
He was not surprised that the Divine Emperor City could suppress both Mao Li Qiu and Demonic Immortal Qi Jue.
The Divine Emperor City was formed from the combination of the Bean God Palace and the Emperor City. Though it had no Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu and was not a Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu House, it contained the Mural World within.
This was the Peaceful Living technique deployed by Immortal Venerable Yuan Lian. It was a Human Path killer move with a Painting Path effect, forming a painting of all living beings. Clearly, it was a Ninth Transformation level killer move — the means of a Venerable.
Under a Venerable's means, Duke Long had been defeated, and Di Cangsheng had been forced to kneel. Even if Demonic Immortal Qi Jue had not been severely injured, he was merely at the half-step Venerable level, and Mao Li Qiu fell even short of that.
"My Ten Thousand Year Flying Battle Chariot and Dragon Palace have been destroyed. Even if they still existed, they would only be at the pinnacle of the Eighth Transformation. But the Divine Emperor City could be considered half of a Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu House. If the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building hadn't been destroyed back then, it could have competed with the Divine Emperor City for the first position."
The Eighty-Eight True Yang Building from back then had been jointly refined by Ancestor Chang Mao and Immortal Venerable Ju Yang. It could split into countless small tower structures to gather wild Gu insects. When combined into one, it formed the main tower, which could also resolve disasters and calamities for the King's Court Blessed Land.
After Immortal Venerable Ju Yang's passing, he left behind the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, allowing Ju Yang — even after death — to manipulate the entire political landscape of the Northern Plains. The Northern Plains had held countless Battles for the King's Court, and the Golden Bloodline had established its supreme status across both the mortal and immortal realms of the Northern Plains, with the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building deserving the greatest credit.
And now, the Divine Emperor City was the greatest gathering point of connections in the Central Continent, the largest repository and training ground for talent — a holy land of the Human Path. In terms of scope and ambition, it was on par with the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
Against such an Immortal Gu House, even Fang Yuan could not help but feel wary.
As for the Heavenly Court — why they had chosen to announce this battle report to the world — Fang Yuan understood completely.
The Heavenly Court desperately needed to boost morale.
Ever since their defeat in the Battle of Destiny, when Fang Yuan had destroyed the Destiny Gu before the eyes of the entire world, the Heavenly Court had been like a beast with its spine ripped out — stripped of its spiritual banner and trampled under Fang Yuan's feet.
This outcome had tremendous consequences. The entire Central Continent was shrouded in a layer of shadow. The Heavenly Court's Gu Immortals harbored hatred and a drive to strengthen themselves, but fear also lurked deep in their hearts. And the Ten Great Ancient Sects of the Central Continent were even more demoralized — listless and without spirit.
The Central Continent was a land beset on all sides, and this situation was truly dangerous. Once it was perceived as weak and vulnerable, when the Five Regions descended into chaos, it would invite attacks from all four surrounding regions. At that point, no matter how strong the Central Continent was — like a tiger or leopard — it would be devoured by a pack of wolves.
On one hand to stabilize the internal situation, on the other hand to deter external threats — Qin Dingling had to do this! Concealing the battle's outcome might have provided some tactical advantage, but Qin Dingling was the leader of the Heavenly Court and had to consider the bigger picture. So, she chose to forgo the tactical advantage, willingly making up for the strategic decline.
"The Heavenly Court is rich in talent. Even after losing a great power like Fairy Zi Wei, they still have Qin Dingling to stabilize the overall situation. The Heavenly Court's foundation is solid and real, not mere boasting." Fang Yuan sighed, feeling quite approving of Qin Dingling's decision in his heart. If it had been him, he would have done the same.
At their level, the Five Regions and Two Heavens were a chessboard. When clashing against one another, without vision and perspective, even if one could show off temporarily, the end would still be a miserable defeat.
Looking back now at this Fang Yuan pursuit battle…
Undoubtedly, the biggest loser was the Shadow Sect. Their half-step Venerable combat power, Demonic Venerable You Hun, had been killed in action. The Shadow Sect's Gu Immortals — some dead, some missing, some on the run, some captured.
Then came Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan's losses were devastating.
Now, his entire Supreme Immortal Aperture was in a sorry state. The Mini Southern Border, which had originally been the most vibrant area, had been reduced to patches of barren mountains and ruins, with only a handful of resource points remaining. The Mini Four Regions and Mini Nine Heavens were hardly any better.
The various non-humans and humans, despite Fang Yuan's efforts to protect them, had still suffered considerable losses.
The Last War Beast King, after withstanding the Ten Thousand Calamities, was still in a comatose state and had not yet awakened.
The loss of Immortal Gu was the greatest Fang Yuan had ever experienced.
First, two Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu Houses had been lost. The Dragon Palace's core Immortal Gu — the Dream Decree Gu — and the Ten Thousand Year Flying Battle Chariot's Flow of Time Gu had been preserved, though both sustained damage and required time to recuperate. The majority of the remaining Immortal Gu had been destroyed in battle, including defensive Gu and combat Gu.
Earth Path Gu losses were also significant. Although the Fortress of Stability still stood, the power of You Hun's self-detonation had been terrifying. To withstand that single attack alone, Fang Yuan had lost seven Earth Path Immortal Gu, not to mention an innumerable quantity of Earth Path ordinary Gu.
The Fortress of Stability had been severely weakened as a result.
Over this period, Fang Yuan had successively experienced the Battle of Destiny, withstanding the Ten Thousand Calamities, and the Fang Yuan pursuit battle. His Eighth Transformation Immortal Essence was nearly depleted. One could say that he had almost entirely exhausted the hard-earned reserves he had accumulated before the Battle of Destiny.
The Twelve Zodiac Battle Formation had only just shown signs of improvement, but after the battle with You Hun, it would need to accumulate power all over again.
The Reverse Flow River still retained only a sliver — still not enough for practical use.
The Boundless Qi Sea killer move had plummeted in power to rock bottom and could no longer be considered an ace.
And from Demonic Venerable You Hun, Fang Yuan had obtained no spoils of war whatsoever. You Hun's self-detonation had sent everything up in smoke.